Author: Jonathan Cousins, ENG’14, GEN’14
There’s nothing like waking up and seeing snow falling out the window. Growing up in San Jose, CA, this was a rarity. I only got to see snow during our family’s annual ski trip to Lake Tahoe in February. Once I had made my decision to go to Penn, I was a little worried about the weather – especially the cold, snowy winters I had imagined on the East Coast. But I just packed up my snow gear and carried it out to Philly, and figured I would be ok.
Upon arrival it became clear that I had other weather issues to worry about first. Namely, humidity. Moving into Hill House with no AC was quite the experience, and the first week was pretty rough. But then it cooled off, and things were back to normal. As the year went on, I really only saw snow once or twice, as I managed to be at home over break during most of the major snow. This went on for the past few years, until I woke up this Sunday and saw the aforementioned snow out the window.
Snow in December has a magical quality to it, and just feels right. Campus becomes beautiful as the snow creates a smooth white layer over everything. There are less people out and about, and campus becomes quieter and much more peaceful. But that aside, it becomes a hassle to get anywhere. Out of my closet come boots, scarves, hats and gloves as I bundle up to get from one building to another, and as soon as I arrive the layers come off as all of the buildings are warm, and some excessively so.
I’m not sure where I will be in May after graduation, or where I will be come next winter. But for now, there’s nothing like walking down Locust with snow falling. This is one of my Penn memories that will stay with me.
Frankly Penn 