When I was in elementary school, I would pray for a snow day. As the months got colder, and everything seemed dull and dreary, I would do anything to try to manifest the feeling of waking up to a magical, snowy, wonderland. I put my spoon under my pillow and I wore my pajamas inside out and backward just to have the day off from school so I could go sledding with my friends and drink hot chocolate by the fireplace.

As we got older, we would frequently use the Snow Day Calculator to calculate the likelihood of a snow day. Now, even as a high schooler, I look forward to snow days. The day off means I have more time to do my homework and study (and have a snowball fight, or two, with my little brothers). 

Moving forward, I think that there is a real possibility of snow days becoming nostalgic memories. Due to COVID-19 and virtual schooling, we have grown accustomed to remote learning, and not being inside of school buildings. With these new learning accommodations going to school is now logging onto a google meet from your bedroom, a Zoom call from your kitchen, or a Webex from your backyard. This at-home learning environment may impact the way administrators view snow days, seeing them as something that can now be avoided. 

I strongly believe that this should not be the case. Without snow days, there is nothing to look forward to during the winter. When everything seems dark and hopeless (and cold), snow days provide the light we need to lift our spirits, especially during the perpetual winter months. These days are not only well-deserved breaks but also a quintessential part of our fleeting childhoods.

To students, snow days are more than a day off from school. They are a surprise, a call in the early morning hours alerting families that school is canceled. The instant relief and joy sets in, you turn off your alarm and sleep until the late morning. As you wake up, you hurry to your curtains and quickly pull them apart. You stare outside, wonderstruck because of the bright snow shining into your hopeful eyes. This feeling is one of the many invaluable parts of childhood; my fondest childhood memories were snow days, staying home in my pajamas, smelling the lingering scent of freshly baked cookies around the house, and feeling the magic of winter. 

As we all know, 2020 has been more complicated than previous years, but the last thing we need is for a familiar, green, Dr. Suess character to come to life and steal the magic from winter. Without snow days, so many childhood memories would be lost, and magical snowy days would be spent inside, behind a screen. 

For what it’s worth, I think snow days should not join the list of canceled activities in 2020. I think that they should stay because taking away snow days is taking away the magic of winter.