I moved from New England the summer before my freshman year in high school. Moving to South Carolina welcomed me to humidity, like, all the time and rarely every dropping below 25º. While I was able to wear fall-ish clothing from October through February, enjoy a 70º Christmas, and never have to go to school until the end of June because of snow days, I missed freezing cold days and most importantly watching the snow fall.
When I was looking into colleges the beginning of my senior year, I knew two things, the school had to be big and it had to get cold. When I made my decision to come to UConn, I felt excited, a little nervous to be so far from my parents, but there was a silver lining. Not only would I return to a place where I actually could experience all four seasons, but I would be able to be reunited with snow.
We had our first snow fall on campus the Thursday before Thanksgiving break. We had snow the Sunday before coming back from winter break and have had snow twice the second week of class (shoutout to Mother Nature for making sure I was in CT to appreciate her work).
The people I know that have been here for a while, or somewhere it snows often, don't always have the best outlook on snow. Plenty of them get bothered by the mess it makes or how it's difficult to drive in, etc., but they're missing the bigger picture.
Almost every time it has snowed/flurried I have managed to make my way outside for it.
Now, this might sound crazy (and yes Mom, I was wearing those gloves you got me for Christmas), but I would go out on purpose for it. When you see snow on TV, it's a magical, peaceful thing. Think Hallmark Christmas movie snowfall, the actors/actresses always look perfect and their hair somehow catches snow but doesn't get mess up, and the snow falls daintily around them.
In Storrs, CT, there's generally a decent amount of wind and shuffling about between people walking and driving cars, so it's not quite the same experience. However, it's still one of the most amazing experiences I have had. To me, I feel like I'm in a snow globe.
Snow before Thanksgiving Break.Personal Photo//Elizabeth Dunn
No matter how inconvenient it might be, I'll always have a special place in my heart for snow. Even the rain can't compete with the snow. The way it falls and fresh snow on the ground (especially late at night), will always be my kryptonite.
So, the next time it snows, do me a favor. Take a minute, maybe even just 30 seconds, stop what you're doing, and watch it cascade down from the stormy sky.
