UNITED STATES—Snow days, for most kids it’s something they pray for, but little do many know so do adults. Those living in the Midwest and on the East Coast this past week got pummeled with a major snow storm that dropped serious snowfall in the region. For me, we saw about 11-13 inches of snow. Yeah, that’s a lot, even more if you factor in that it started snowing late Saturday night and didn’t stop till very early Monday morning.
So while many students got the opportunity to stay inside on Monday, I wasn’t so lucky. When you become a member of the higher echelons of the educational arena, there is NO SUCH thing as a snow day! Not only was it frustrating shoveling snow on three separate occasions near my home, it sucked that the university had NO INTENTIONS whatsoever of closing campus for the day. Now granted, it was the last thing I wanted to have happen anyway. Why? Its finals week people!
I had been cramming non-stop all weekend, preparing for a final where I just had no clue what would be the best way to study to ensure I did better this time around compared to the mid-term. I knew and my gut was telling me, “It’ll never happen.” I can’t recall the university EVER cancelling classes as long as I’ve attended the school. So I prepared, what bothered me the most was the fact that it was brutally cold! What was even worse was the fact that many students who had finals early Monday morning would have to deal with the brunt of the snowfall, blizzardy winds and tons of ice.
Yes, some portions of the campus were shoveled, but there portions of the campus that weren’t shoveled so imagine trying to get to class while walking through 10-12 inches of snow; not easy people, not easy at all. For those portions of campus that were shoveled, and salted, the big issue was ice! I mean I saw so many students take tumbles trying to get to class it was disturbing.
A normal 5-10 minute walk to one building to the next, took 20-25 minutes because of all the heavy snow and ice. For those who were driving, oh, God did I feel sorry. The roads were a complete mess. Not just bad, but treacherous, yet people were speeding as if we hadn’t just experienced the first major snowstorm of winter, and guess what it’s not even winter yet! For those in preschool to 12th grade, they had a free day to sit back, relax, catch a bit of TV and have an extended weekend. For us undergrads, graduate students and professors it was class as normal, just a bit more treacherous than usual.
I was actually quite surprised not many of my classmates were late getting to class. I got up an extra 90 minutes to ensure that I wouldn’t be late for my final, but I suspected if any of us were late, the professor would understand considering the conditions outdoors. So many have had what could be deemed the first big snow day of the winter months, but if this week’s past storm is any indicator, this winter could be brutal, and I mean that in a snowy, icy, windy and cold way.
