When I decided to come to Boston for college, there was one thing everyone warned me about: the snow.
If you asked me as a freshman what I was most excited for, I’d say the crazy winters. I was so excited to be snowed in and to see the winter wonderland Boston would inevitably turn into each winter. But, for the last three years, that hasn’t happened — snow like that hasn’t come close — until this year.
This winter Mother Nature decided to bring multiple record breaking snowstorms to the Boston area. For the first round of snow this winter, I wasn’t in the city. When I received the text that BU would be shutting down its campus, I was home in Pennsylvania, snowed in there with canceled flights and travel delays.
After some disappointment and a 12 hour travel day on the overnight train, I made it back to Boston just after the last bit of snow had fallen. At the time, I’d thought I’d never experience a true Bostonian winter storm where I’d get snowed in with my friends, sledding instead of studying.
That was until last week when I received a call from my grandma letting me know that I should prepare for the storm that was coming in. I checked the weather app, and sure enough, on that Sunday we were supposed to get a ton of snow. As for preparations, I bought a couple things from Trader Joe’s in case I needed a snack, and that night made sure my phone was charged — even though BU has backup generators for some dorms.
I went to sleep Sunday night with very little snow out my window, and thought that the storm might miss us altogether. I dreamt of the snow day I missed and joked that we’d probably get no snow at all. That was until I woke up the next morning to a winter wonderland.
There was snow piled on my fire escape, covering the road and sidewalks and the MIT fraternity brothers were playing in the snow across the street from my dorm. Campus was closed, and the BU snow day I was waiting for was finally here.
I’d spent most of the day inside, doing laundry and chatting with my friends from home about the insane amount of snow that was falling. But by the end of the day, I was beginning to feel stir-crazy and needed to go on a walk. Of course, that meant putting on my snowpants, layering up and zipping up my snow boots that haven’t had much action.
Bundled up, I walked from East Campus to West Campus to meet up with my friends. I walked through the middle of the street, just because I could.
I could barely see the way ahead over the piled up snow that was still there from the previous storm.
When I got to my friends’ place, I saw that facilities workers were already out clearing some of the snow, and I doubted there would be another closure. But then, as I was eating popcorn and playing a board game with my friends, we received another text. Our snow day had just been extended another day.
The snow day that I had mourned missing, just became two days that made up for anything I had missed before.
At the time, I was so excited. I’d have no class until Thursday because of my schedule, and I’d have time to enjoy the cold weather and snow covered sidewalks that I’d never really experienced before.
I can finally say that I have experienced a true Boston winter, and it was just as fun as everyone made it out to seem.
However, it’s now March. As much fun as the iconic Boston winter was, I’d much prefer for the snow to stop, the ice to melt and spring to make its entrance.
As I walked home from class the other day, there was another mini snow storm and what was supposed to be less than an inch of snow covered the sidewalk. By the end of the night it had shifted to ice and then rain, and I caught myself complaining about the snowy weather I once dreamed of.
I guess eventually hating the weather really is just part of the Boston winter experience — dreaming of snow and being sick of it by March. All in all, I’m just glad that I experienced a BU snow storm once in my four years here, and now I’m fully ready to move on to warmer weather.
