On Febuary 9^th, the College of the Holy Cross cancelled classes for the entire day due to snow. It was glorious. As I sat in my bed at 6:00 AM (I’m a creature of habit, and waking up way too early is one of those habits) I had an epiphany. How I spend a snow day has changed with every new school I attended.

Elementary School

In Elementary school snow days are amazing. They are the best. Snow days will never be better than they are at this age. You wake up a little later than normal, because your mom didn’t wake you up. You get up, see the weather, and from that point on its all engines go. You sprint downstairs to your kitchen and don’t know what to do with yourself, but in the good way. Maybe you spend two hours watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon classics (shout out to Danny Phantom), maybe your mom makes you a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes (blueberries is and will always be superior to chocolate chips no matter the occasion). Me personally, I liked to sled a.s.a.p, before the snow plowman came and snow plowed the Mt. Everest that is my driveway. I booked it up my driveway, hoping to get a few good runs in with the other neighborhood kids before the snowplow came. Then once he came, I’d go inside, eat some ramen noodles, and have snow with maple syrup on it. At the end of the day I’d take a warm shower, throw my pajamas back on, and watch a movie until I had to go to bed, hoping school is either cancelled or delayed tomorrow.

Snow Day Rating- 10/10

Middle School

At this point in my life, snow days are about one thing and one thing only, adrenaline. Easy days of leisurely sledding have been replaced by going as fast as I can down a hill. I spent all day building jumps for my hill, maybe even using a hose to pour water on the hill so it freezes making ice, thus reducing friction. Did any of this ever work, did I ever get the perfect sledding run? No, of course not. But it was fun to try. After this I would spend the rest of the day throwing snowballs at my friends, in less of a fun and light way and more of a Apocalypse Now, “ The Horror” kind of way. I’d end the day with a warm bowl of soup, and the dark feeling of school tomorrow creeping up on me.

Snow Day Rating-6/10

High School

Snow days in High School had a variety of uses depending on who you were; fortunately I tried them all out. If you’re the studious kind, you could use your snow day to study and catch up on homework, or write that paper. This is the worst kind of snow day, don’t do it unless you have to. Maybe you are the more fun kind. You take your buddies Jeep Wrangler, tie a sled to the back, strap a Go Pro to your head, and boom! You have the sweetest Instagram post of your life. It’s a lot of work, but kind of awesome. Finally, you could take a lazy day. Spend the day sleeping till noon, breakfast for lunch (throwback to those blueberry pancakes) and watching movies on repeat (or an unhealthy Netflix binge) until you pass out on the couch.

Snow Day Rating-8/10

College

Much like in High School you have a few options on how to spend your snow day. However, in this variant, every single option starts with you not leaving your dorm room till at least 1:00. Maybe your one of the unlucky ones who has a teacher that sends work, or makes you hold class via Skype, but if not, then don’t spend the day doing homework and getting ahead of a class (I spent the day doing work, don’t be like me). You could spend the day watching a full season of the latest Netflix original series (I’m still catching up on Luke Cage), or maybe you go outside, pound brews, and shred powder on your skis or sleds (by sled I mean dining hall trays). Any way you slice it, you need to avoid leaving your room for as long as possible, time for those granola bars your mom sent your to do their thing, because the dining hall is way too far away to be worth it.

Snow Day Rating- 7/10