I love it when it's so cold outside that it hurts to breathe. That's my favorite kind of weather. When the sky is so dark, but the sparkling snow makes light. When the whipping wind whistles past my ears and makes them turn a piggy-pink. When my hands grow chapped and turn to my woolen mittens for even just a little warmth.

I look forward to it every year. As soon as Halloween rolls around, I'm ready to get my Christmas decorations out. (Actually, I'm ready all year round.) The lights, the music, the sweaters. All of it. But nothing excites me like the snow. Nothing can make me laugh and smile like the snow can.

The fall was disappointing for me this year. Being a fan of the cold, I was not very happy to walk around in 60-degree weather... Day after day after day. Come on, Mother Nature! Bring on the snow! Let's Go! No? Okay... Another heat wave... I was getting ready to greet a stupid green Christmas this year.

But wait... There it is: the forecast I have been waiting for. A blizzard.

I was sitting in the Francis Frazier Comstock Theatre when the snow started drifting in around 8 pm. There was a Brazilian foreign exchange student with me. This was going to be her first snow. I look forward to the snow every single year, and I've seen it nineteen years in a row. It never gets old for me. I can't even imagine being nineteen and never having seen snow before.

I passed by a side door and glanced out the window. The first flurries were starting. I told the exchange student that the snow had started, and her eyes lit up like the street lamps outside. We both stood on the sidewalk, looking up at the sky. It was a calm, clouded grey, and the white flakes fell down so quickly. They were just small little flakes that collected on our glasses, but we still smiled as if we had slept with hangers in our mouths. We giddily giggled while she took pictures and videos and sent them to all of her Brazilian friends and family.

This was something I had waited months for. The moment the last mound of snow disappears in the spring, I sit there wishing for it all to come back again. Seeing even just the tiniest flake makes me melt completely.

The musical I was helping with finally wrapped up around 10:30, and I was out the door before 11. Each snowflake was massive and tried to whap me in the face. Despite the weather's abuse, I was still infatuated with it all. I loved holding my hand out and trying to catch the flakes, even though I knew I wouldn't catch any. I loved putting my face right into the wind, even though my glasses fogged up. I loved walking through the slush, even though my feet froze to my shoes. All of this, I had waited months for.

Snow is simple. Many people don't ask for it, but we get it anyway. No matter what we want, the seasons still turn, and winter comes around every single year. There are many things in life we cannot control, and the weather is one of those things. We can sit around and gripe about it all -many of us do- or we can sit around and enjoy it.

Today's world is hectic. Between politics and protests. Relationships and technology. School and work. It's crazy and people constantly say that they're busy. Nobody has time for anything. We all need planners and calendars to remember all of our appointments, birthdays, work shifts, commitments, dates, and everything else in between. There's far too much on our plates.

I've always looked forward to the winter. One of my favorite pastimes was simply looking at the snow. The sky goes dark at 4 pm. The streetlights turn on and cast a glow on the snow, making every last inch shimmer. The multi-color Christmas lights line the bushes and houses. The street appeared as glass when glazed with ice. I always loved to sit on my couch and just look out the window. Sit next to the Christmas tree and see the snow, so pristine and calm. It was all so simple. Nothing stressful at all. Every flake looks fluffy and falls down the ground. One on top of the other. Inch after inch. No rhyme or reason.

I worry. All the time. Just about every moment of every day. But when the snow falls, I don't have to worry. Time stops as I look around. Nothing is moving except the snowflakes. There's nothing to analyze. Nothing to fret over. Nothing to cry about. Nothing to stress. I can just look at the snow and not have a single care. The snow starts and the worry stops.

We all have things that help us be serene. Things that remind us why we like to live. In light of recent events, we all need to remember what that thing is. What it is that keeps us sane. What makes us happy. For me, it's the snow. It's something so simple, and it's truly a blessing for me. I make the worst out of a whole lot, but I don't make the worst out of snow. We can't always stress about the world and make things awful and terrible.

What's the point in living if we can't find one simple little thing to enjoy?