The Great Winterpocalypse

By Melanie Salazar
Web Content Contributor

A snowstorm early into 2021 is not what I expected, but I would say that it is off to a good start. Although that may sound incredibly sarcastic, I genuinely mean it.

I have only ever seen snow twice in my life, once as a kid, and once when I was too sick to fully enjoy it, so when I heard there was even a chance of snow in Texas, I was excited but doubtful.

A day before the weather was too dangerous to drive in, I left for a three-hour trip to another college in Stephenville, Texas. This is the only time my habit of over-packing has come in handy.

What was meant to be a four-day trip, turned into over a week. The drive to Stephenville involves driving through various towns and twisting roads, which were blanketed with white fog a majority of the drive.

It almost felt like a movie, like something much more dramatic was about to happen. This time though, it was a positive foreshadowing moment, because soon I would be snowed in with people I genuinely love spending time with.

As I said, the idea of snow in Texas was a thought that seemed a little far-fetched for me to believe, so my boyfriend and I almost undertook no planning at all. But, after being around friends who stressed their concerns, we agreed the responsible thing to do would be to stock up for a few days on food and water.

We were baffled seeing the crowded Walmart with shelves empty, carrying only 3-4 packages of bread and almost completely absent of microwavable foods.

The next morning on Valentine’s Day, we woke up to 3 inches of snow and immediately got some friends to try and build a snowman with us. What others would call a failure, we call giving our best effort, as it turned out to be more of a snow mound with sticks.

Businesses everywhere around us were closed, so the days after were spent watching amazing movies like You’ve Got Mail, Eat Pray Love, and Surf’s Up (yes, the penguin movie). We also got to rescue a bird we mistook for injured (it flew into a car window), had a snowball fight and played a MarioKart tournament in the dorm lobby.

However, there were a few downsides, like having to strictly schedule when the best times to shower were because there was absolutely no hot water for two days. Also, the walk to the dining halls in twelve-degree weather was enough to make our legs and hands completely numb (turns out bags of chips can only keep you so full). But, the good parts outweighed the harder ones.

We made our own fun. It was a strange feeling, having little to no responsibilities for a week. Because of school being canceled, and not being able to worry about making big plans since everything was closed anyway, it allowed us to take our time, hour by hour, and let events happen whenever they happened.

This last week reminded me of what it was like to be a kid honestly, and the importance of getting excited about the littlest things, for everything! I value the time I had to remember that.

Featured image by Melanie Salazar.