The First Snow

On December 1, 2010, it snowed for the first time this winter. It was so magical. The snowflakes were huge and softly floated to the ground as students marched to class, watching their step, trying not to slip. I decided to walk home from class and I enjoyed watching everyone experience the first snow fall. The earth seemed like it was glowing, everything was white.
When I was back in my dorm that night, I was watching the snow float by outside my window. I did this consistently for 4 nights in a row...it never stopped snowing. The flakes just kept drifting down and it wasn't until the 3rd night that I had the feeling of being in a snow globe. I stood in the middle of my large window, and was not able to see the ground; so the snow looked like it often does in a globe, floating every which way around you but never settling to the ground. This experience really made me realize how special snow is. It is once again, a piece of nature that is overlooked. I feel bad because, in this day and age snow is looked at as a task, we have to clean it up and get it out of the way. People are always on the move and too busy to take a minute to stop and watch snow fall in their back yards and on the streets of their neighborhood.
I have made many new friends while being at college that grew up in Florida and honestly never encountered anything like a Michigan snowfall until December 1. These friends have also opened my eyes to the magic that snow creates. It is like nothing else to watch someone who sees and feels something for the first time. The snow made them stop and whisper, "woah" as their eyes opened and they tried to figure out how they were getting to class. A single snowflake made them reach for their cameras and send a picture to all of their friends and family back home, and when the snowflake landed on their hand and melted within seconds, their smile drooped and they realized the fragile and unstable life of this new magical wonder.
I am grateful to see a reaction as pure and wonderful as my friends; it makes me think of what I might have done the first time I saw and played in snow. This year will bring a new experience for me, instead of shoveling the continuous downfall of snow I will be walking home and spending time watching it fall. I will love the snow while I can and won't worry about the dangers that it does bring. Even with all these changes in my relationship with a winter wonder land, I will always pray for a snow day, even if class is easy to get to. :) My New Years resolution to anyone that reads, take a minute in the next snowfall and catch a snowflake on your tongue. They are delicious among all else!