I open my book bag to see my locker’s entire contents stuffed haphazardly inside. I tell myself just take it one at a time, and pull out my United States History book. As I walk out of the family room, I hear Cindy Preszler for News Channel 5 telling her viewers to expect three to five inches of snow. I stop dead in my tracks and drop my book.

            “What was that?! What did she say?!” I excitedly ask.

            My mom tells me that there is a big snow storm over Columbia, Missouri, right now and that it should arrive overnight. That is probably one of the best feelings in the world; knowing that God sends you a homework extension by means of a snowstorm.

            Do not get me wrong, I love snow days, but just because I get the next day of school off is not the only reason I love snow. A snowfall is somewhat like a present, one received on Christmas Day. You go to sleep at night hoping and wishing for a big snow fall, and when you wake up in the morning, it almost magically appears. There is also this purifying quality to snow that just utterly fascinates me. To look out after a previously cold, grey winter day, and see the world draped in a blanket of white somewhat reassures me that there is some good in the world. Some of my greatest childhood memories come from days spent in the snow.

            I believe I was in sixth grade at the time, and my neighbor Brian had the perfect sledding hill. It was steep enough that one could still get a thrill when sledding down, yet off to the side, there was an easy route back up the hill. No exaggeration, I probably went up and down that hill at least fifty times that day. We came up with the idea that we could pretend we were running our own ski resort, and we could be the ski patrol. I convinced him to sled off a tree stump, around which we had packed snow, and the first time he went, he hit his knee on the tiny space not covered in snow. After I carried him up the hill in a sled, one of the jobs of the ski patrol, I went home to see that my mom had already had the hot cocoa on the stove. It is times like these I will never forget.

            Snow is not all fun and games. There is a reason why school is cancelled on days when there is heavy snow. Many people die each year due to driving in snowy conditions. The speed of snow during an avalanche can reach up to sixty to eight miles per hour. Nearly 150 people die each year due to avalanches.

            While snow may be quite a sight to look at, and very fun to play in, there is also a powerful quality to snow that also amazes me. Whether snow amazes me visually with its beauty, allows for me to enjoy an occasional sledding or snowball fight, or blows me away (figuratively or physically) through an avalanche, there will always be a part of me that looks at snow with wonder and awe.