An important part of the college experience is meeting people with different backgrounds and experiences than your own. This is never as self-evident as when the weather forecast predicts an impending snowstorm. In conversations with friends and peers about the snow, both digitally and in person, I heard some people say, “You know, I’m really excited for this snow. I can’t wait!”

My initial reaction was to ask, “Why?” When I was much younger, about four or five, I wouldn’t have needed to answer that question. When snow first falls and covers everything and has yet to be stepped in, it’s beautiful to look at (as long as the sun’s rays don’t reflect off it on a bad angle, in which case it burns the eyes). It’s also fun to play in: provided nobody throws chunks of ice, snowball fights are just the right mixture in competition and levity. Making snow angels and snowmen creates no such concerns (unless one deliberately turns them into competitions).

As one ages, however, they may start to see the disruptions of daily life caused by snow as a net negative. Missing school due to a snow day is often a welcome relief--especially if one has not completed their homework--but then one realizes snow days reduce the time one has to learn the material, and less time to prepare for exams. In cases when feet--as in two or more--of snow fall, it may very well be impossible to leave one’s house. Whether or not that’s a positive is up to the individual, but for working adults it often means not being able to go work. In cases when one can leave their home, moving around can be difficult. If one travels on foot, they risk slipping on ice, falling, and possibly hurting and embarrassing themselves. If one travels by car, they’re at the mercy of their municipal government’s Department of Public Works. I grew up in Yonkers, which is a very hilly city. Often, many of the side roads were neglected when it came to salting and plowing; as a result, commute times often multiplied by factors of two or greater. One particularly egregious example came when it took my brother 20 minutes to drive my sister, godsister, and me to school. That drive normally took six or seven minutes, and we could have walked to school in 20 minutes if we were so inclined. This, of course, came after my sister and I spent time clearing the car and the surrounding area of snow.

Many of these concerns are not problems once one is dorming at college, however. Depending on the school, snow days are a non-factor. Harvard refuses to declare snow days unless it absolutely must; last year, it took a ban on driving by the governor of Massachusetts for Harvard to cancel classes. Of course, being a residential university, commutes are not a problem for students. (They remain problems for faculty, however.) Nor does one have to shovel driveways or sidewalks. In cases where classes are canceled and one is trapped in their dorm, friends are trapped inside your dorm as well, so loneliness is a non-issue.

Most of the downsides to snowfall have to do with responsibility. Being a college student enables one to avoid those responsibilities that are hated (i.e. shoveling), and fulfill those responsibilities that are necessary (i.e. actually going to class, as long as doing so would not seriously endanger you). Plus, your friends are right there to enjoy the snow days with you. So to Northeasterners and Californians alike: savor the snowfalls. Just don’t throw ice at anyone.