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

