Wednesday, February 11, 2015 // The Statement 3B
All the Pretty Things: Snow days
V
oices of sportscasters mix
with the tapping of laptop
keys as my friends and I
watch the SuperBowl half-heart-
edly while finishing the homework
that should have been done much
earlier in the weekend. Snow falls
perpetually outside, as I joke,
“There’s no way we will have class,”
to which my buds reply, “You don’t
understand how this school works,
you are a freshman,” as the Patri-
ots score a touchdown. We look up,
just the slightest bit interested for a
few seconds, and then return back
to our work. The night was like any
other Sunday night, with the feeling
of another week of classes to bring
the mood to a semi-sad, semi-tired
feeling. The only thing to keep our
moods up seemed to be the outra-
geous halftime show, where Katy
Perry rode a terrifying metal tiger.
We continue with our work, unin-
terested in the outcome of the game,
when suddenly my friend leaps from
her bed, “You guys, we have a snow
day!” We all laugh, completely con-
vinced that somebody was trolling
her, “Sit down, you can’t do that to
us.” She sits down, a little defeated.
We joke about the condescending
tweet that the University sent out
just an hour before, ensuring that all
students would be attending class
the next day. We had very little to be
hopeful for.
My other friend jumps from her
seat, “She isn’t lying, we do not have
school tomorrow!” as she whips
around to show us her laptop screen
with the beautiful red bar across the
screen that sent the entire campus
into a frenzy.
Immediately
we
jump
up,
the halls filled with students all
screaming the good news. Music
blares from rooms all around us,
and for the first time ever our hall
seemed sort of like we were close
(for maybe two minutes). Droves
of students flocked the streets in
search of an impromptu snowball
fight or party. We turn on music
and have a celebratory dance party
for about two hours, with intermit-
tent questioning of where we were
going that night. Finally decid-
ing that it is best to just stay in, we
settle down for the night, ready for
food and a movie. The night turns to
early morning as we watch another
sickly-sweet Nicholas Sparks film,
and chow on our leftover guac from
the SuperBowl. We drift off know-
ing that the next day we have more
time to pull ourselves together and
recover.
Pretty snowflakes fell outside,
securing our day off. A great feeling
overcame us: we have all night, and
all day to make more memories, to
enjoy one another’s company, with-
out the scratching of a pencil or the
tapping of a laptop. We were able to
just enjoy life because we had one
more day. The next day would bring
frantic studying and extra loads of
laundry, but the feeling of a snow
day never goes away. From being
a kid to now, a snow day is an extra
day at freedom, at more time to just
be.
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE MILLER
B Y J A C K LY N T H O M A S
T H E T H O U G H T B U B B L E
“I’m in a class on IT Global and Society right now
and it talks about how protesters in India, Iran, and
Egypt all have this opportunity to use social media
to gather, but at the same time all of their oppressors
also have access to it and can more easily find them
too.”
–INFORMATION SENIOR SAM BOLIN
YEEZUS HAS SPOKEN
ON THE
RECORD
“I just know that the Grammys, if they want real artists
to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us.
We ain’t gonna play with them no more. And Beck needs
to respect artistry and he should’ve given his award to
Beyoncé.”
– KANYE WEST, regarding artist Beck’s Grammy upset for
Album of the Year over frontrunner Beyoncé
SEE INSIDE: DETROIT’S RUTH ELLIS CENTER
RUBY WALLAU/DAILY
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY