Right now it is snowing, and this is the only time I have seen the first snow of winter anywhere. It isn’t a very heavy snow- it is a light, romantic snow that you see in comedies starring people like John Cusack (those movies would be different if, after the scene where he proposes, they walk out of the hotel lobby into a huge blizzard that immediately blows them over and suffocates them on the sidewalk. Also, if John Cusack turned out to be a black hole disguised as a person). It’s the kind of snow that you can appreciate even when you are not immediately dressed for it, and I walked back to my dorm very content with the East Coast and nature in general. It reminds me of a time when I was much younger and in New York visiting my grandparents. We had just gone to see the Radio City Christmas Show, and we walked out of the theater to find New York City showered with snow. It seemed very much like magic; in fact I’m sure that somebody in my family used that phrase.

At any rate, this felt like magic too- I again walked out of a play and again the snow caught me completely by surprise. Winter on the East Coast is more important somehow than the West Coast- obviously this is mostly a result of the weather, but it extends further than that. Before I went to the play, I attended a Holiday Dinner in our main dining hall. Entirely for freshmen, the huge building was decked out in glorious decorations that ranged from very classy (ice sculptures, all kinds of dessert displays) to tacky (blinking christmas lights all over the ceiling), but it was all great. Then there was a food parade which, as one of my friends pointed out, combines two things everybody loves. The dining staff carried a giant turkey on a platter, the biggest challah bread I’ve ever seen, lobsters and shrimp, everything. Followed by Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause, who gave out candy (I took Nerds).

It all made me feel so happy- that my college was throwing an elaborate freshman holiday dinner, that all of the non-freshmen were getting their own holiday dinner in their respective colleges, that winter is a bigger deal here, and that it is snowing. All in all a very good evening, and a great way to begin what should be an awesome reading week (two improv shows, a music showcase, a rave, movies, band practice, sleeping in, fun fun fun fun). (also studying)