A few days ago on my way across campus, instead of hurrying to get to where I was going like I normally do, I took time to admire the snow. I noticed how beautiful the Golden Dome looked as the snow fell down and how much people seemed to be embracing the moment. Being from Chicago, I don’t have as much appreciation for the snow as most people do. I love when it snows around the holidays, but not so much when it’s March and nearing April. However, given that we’re still in January, I’ve chosen to embrace the snow for the time being.
As a little kid, I would always get so excited at the possibility of a snow day. I remember sitting and staring wide-eyed at the TV as a five year old hoping and praying that my grade school would be listed in bold red font as one of the schools that would be closed for the day. At five, a snow day meant that I could drink hot chocolate and go sledding with my friends. In high school, I had the same feelings when it came to snow days. I vividly remember checking snow day calculator apps and refreshing my email numerous times per day in hopes that we had received an email stating that classes had been canceled. Only, in high school, instead of drinking hot chocolate and going sledding with my friends, I mostly chose to take the time to sleep in, something my normal 6:30 AM wakeup had prevented me from doing.
Needless to say, snow days were always great. During the pandemic, however, I realized that snow days had become a thing of the past. Classes could get moved online and carried on as normal. As nice as it was that people were able to adapt their daily routines to working remotely during a time when the whole world had seemed to stop, there was a huge part of me that longed for the traditional snow day.
Last year, during my first year of college, there were one or two days where the weather was so bad that classes were moved online. Some of my professors conducted classes as normally as they would have had we been in an actual classroom, while others told us to go out and enjoy the snow. During one of the snow days, I took advantage of the extra time and caught up on some sleep. And during the other, once classes had finished, I remember going over to my friend’s dorm room, where we ordered Domino’s pizza and watched Gossip Girl. Despite having to go to class online, we still managed to make a “snow day” enjoyable.
As much as I could say I am not a fan of the snow, I realize that snow can bring a lot of joy if you choose to embrace it. Snow reminds me not only of snow days, but also of skiing and snowmobiling with my family. It reminds me of the time I was little and built snow forts with my cousins. And, most recently, it's given me memories of being here at Notre Dame in South Bend.
Isabelle Kause is a sophomore at Notre Dame studying sociology and minoring in journalism. When she’s not busy, you can find her listening to country music or Taylor Swift or trying out new makeup/skincare products. She can be reached at ikause@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
