Kali Lingen

As a child, I loved winter and snow, simply because I always hoped for snow days at the sight of the first fallen snowflakes. Snow days were those rare, fantastic days when school was canceled and my brother and I were allowed to play outside all day long. Snow days are some of the best days in my childhood memory.

My mother worked at the school, so we knew when there was a snow day right away, sometimes even before the news stations would broadcast it. My brother and I would sleep in, and then we would find all the other kids that lived on our block to play outside. Snowball fights and building forts were always snow day favorites. It seemed that we would play outside the entire day. It would be getting dark by the time we would finally go inside.

There is something wonderful about snow days. For me, it was a day when time seemed to stand still. There was nothing better than being outside in the freshly fallen snow. And there always seemed to be a lot more of it than there has been in recent winters. I thought snow was the greatest thing when I was a child, but I grew up, and the magic of snow has somewhat faded.

It seems there were a lot more snow days when I was a child than there are now. I can only remember once in my collegiate career when school was canceled due to inclement weather. It was my freshman year in the spring of 2007, a mere two days before spring break was to begin.

A winter storm was about to hit Brookings, and Interstate 29 was closing. It was about 11:30 a.m. on a Thursday when I found out that classes had been canceled for the remainder of the day. At the time, my parents lived five hours away, and the roads I had to take home were closing because of the storm. Classes were canceled on Friday as well. I, along with about a quarter of the girls that lived on the third floor in Pierson, was stuck there until Saturday, like many other students on campus.

A snow day at SDSU was fantastic, just as great when I was a child. Sleeping in, scooping cars out of the snow in the parking lot and just being with friends were some of the best memories I have from my time at SDSU.

Snow days will always stick out in my mind as some of the greatest days in my memory. Between spending them with my brother and then later with my friends, I will always remember the magic of snow days. Now, if we could only have a few more at SDSU this spring, that would top off my last semester here.