February 6
Prompt: "SNOW. SNOW, SNOW, SNOW."
Everyone who reads this blog knows that I adore snow. I was always a snow-lover--I was the kind of child who thought it wasn't Christmas if it didn't snow. But I must say, after two years in Northern Michigan, I developed an entirely new appreciation for snow.
Snow at Interlochen is no laughing matter. You are buried alive. I'm not kidding. You are legit buried alive. I'm not even joking. We had eight, nine, ten-foot snow piles. We actually had bets and contests debating which pile would be the first or last to melt. It started in December and didn't end until March...sometimes, it even went on into April. And during this time, if you went outside wearing Converse, you'd fall on your ass (directly into a pile of snow, too) faster than you could say "Big mistake." And don't even think about trying to wear a leather jacket on a snowy day. You'd freeze!
So imagine four months of this every year, okay? In southern Michigan it's bad enough, but up by the lake, we'd get PILES of snow. So every year, we were extremely relieved when it stopped, and the weather got warmer (even though warm weather usually brought tentworms and bewildering humidity that not even the most blustery fan could tame). But...one year...
The weather had a relapse.
I'm not kidding.
April 20, 2011:
We are nervous when we hear of an impending snowstorm, but also confident that our Interlochen would never, ever do such an evil thing to us when we were so close to graduation and only had one month left to enjoy the beautiful campus with our friends. But guess what? It snowed. Like, a lot. I mean, it was at least a foot. It was like December all over again. It was INSANE. I spent the night tucked away inside the DeRoy commons...but I know people who actually went sledding. I'm not kidding...it was a proper mindfuck, as Mishka would've said. (Or, as a clever staff member of the Blue Collar so cleverly put it, the Gods of Northern Michigan decided to take a large, white dump on us.)
This was not the only snow adventure I had...I mean, with four months a year of eight-foot snowdrifts, how could it be?...but this was the one that I remember the most because it was just so UNEXPECTED. I mean, really. Where else could you expect snow in April, besides the Midwest? (Well, okay, probably in other northern parts of the world. Shush, Realism, I'm trying to be special here.)
I don't have the time right now to recount every single detail of that night...but I can tell you that it involved dancercise tapes, watercolors, straight-girl bashing from my lovely gay friend, freaking out Isaac (always a favorite pastime of ours, it seems), and a secondhand tale of snow-running, stolen elks, and Zumba dancing.
At Interlochen, we understand snow. We embrace snow. We have to, or we go crazy. Most importantly, we understand what snow can do to a person, and what snow is really, truly good for.
WHAT SNOW IS GOOD FOR:
- Making snow-slushies with lemonade or a drink of your choice
- Making snow-forts and snow-caves and snowmen
- Going for walks and talking with your spirit twin (miss you Thomas! <3)
- Diving into piles of it when you just need a break
- Having epic snow-fights with your Dead Poet best friends
- Eating up like cheesecake when you're so thirsty you can't possibly wait to get to Stone (make sure it's clean though)
- Sneaking up on you when you least expect it...for instance, in the middle of April
- Driving you into a state of stir-craziness that induces all sorts of behavior in which you would not ordinarily participate: fort-building, Zumba dancing, elk-stealing, crush-revealing, screaming like an insane person, dancing like you're in a music video (when, uh, you are definitely not), playing Loup-Garou at an odd hour, skipping (yes, sadly, I did do this), and of course freaking out your best guy friend. (Sorry, Isaac.)
- Sliding! Or, if you're me, marveling at the fact that others can slide on large, flat patches of packed-down snow without falling and breaking several major bones and rupturing several vital organs
- Most important: Cursing at when you JUST WANT TO SEE SOME SUNSHINE ALREADY!
Enjoy your snow, Interlocheners! ;)
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