Many people think I'm crazy because I'm often the one excitedly looking forward to when it snows. A lot of people don't because it's hard to drive on, you have to scoop it out of the way, and it's cold. I know that many, kids especially, look forward to it because of the snow days. Which are nice, but...

I like to think of the other things that it can bring too.

Like how when it first snows and you're the first one in the household to go outside and make footprints in it! The sound of it crunching underneath the feet is like music to the ears. It's also really fun to make shapes out of your footprints, walking around in the yard. If anyone ever wanted to truly send a message to aliens, the first snowfall would be their best chance. They might have to get up a little early to make sure they're the first ones out in that yard or where ever they decide to go, but I'm sure in the end it would be worth it for them.

I absolutely love the way the trees ice over though. If I had to choose the thing that I think is the most beautiful in the world, I would have to say iced over tree branches. There's just something about the way they glitter in the sunlight and how some branches sag a little from the weight of the ice. I love when snow piles up a little bit on the thicker part of the branches too. For me, it's just something to behold and take in. They're especially pretty to look at during sunrise or sunset too because the ice will take on some of the hues of the sky as it changes in the light. It's also pretty great when the ice starts to melt! It can look kind of creepy because of the way the wood darkens because it's wet, but it's beautiful too!

I could also probably be considered slightly crazy because I find an odd beauty in the way snow becomes gross from being driven on and from all the bad things humans put in the air. It's a sad beauty, really, the way the pure white turns to a dirty brown/black as it starts to mix with the chemicals and mud. It reminds me how life takes the pure and innocent and turns them into tougher and more knowledgeable people. Life can be rough, but we can make it!

So, I love snow for more than the days it can sometimes get me out of class or because it's fun to throw a ball of it at my siblings. I love it because of the beauty that I find it can be. I love watching it as it falls from the sky, I love seeing it on the ground, I love it as it melts, and I miss it when it's gone.

I'm different from most people when I say that I love snow.

"Even in winter, an isolated patch of snow has a special quality." - Andy Goldsworthy