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OK, I admit it -- I hate snow
By Tatiana Southam
Dcember 14, 2005 | Utah is known
for its great snow. Its powder is perfect for snowboarding,
skiing and sledding. There are so many fun activities
to do when it snows. I used to wonder how anyone could
hate it. Now I know why.
I haven't always felt this way about snow. When I
was 12 years old, I loved it. I built igloos with my
older sister and younger brother in front of our house.
We absolutely loved it. We could stay all day outside
in the snow. We built snowmen, had snowball fights,
went sledding, and made snow angels.
Snow was the coolest thing when I was young. Now that
I'm older, my views have suddenly changed.
I'm afraid of snow. I think it's dangerous.
I went to Salt Lake over Thanksgiving break to check
out the Christmas lights downtown. After I was there
for about 20 minutes, a snowstorm suddenly swept through.
I ran to my car and hopped on the freeway. I'm absolutely
terrified to drive in the snow. I've slid and skidded
all over the place plenty of times. Of course, my little
front-wheel drive Honda Accord isn't exactly the best
winter vehicle either. I just drove carefully, and really
slow.
While most drivers were going a cautious and steady
40 miles per hour, a few drivers were ignorant. They
sped on the freeway until they almost hit the bumper
on the car in front of them. That's when they slammed
on their brakes.
Everyone knows when you slam on your breaks in a snowstorm,
you're going to slide. That's exactly what happened.
On my 25-minute drive back to my parent's home that
night, I saw more than 10 accidents. Each accident had
at least three cars involved. I was glad no one hit
me that night. I've had my fair share of being rear-ended.
I don't even have to be driving in the snow to be
afraid of it. Another big snowstorm came through Logan
last week. When I left in the morning for my classes,
it was a clear sky, with only a few snowflakes here
and there. When I got out of my first class that morning,
however, I could hardly see through all the snow. I
quickly walked to my next class, hoping the snowstorm
would be over when I got out of it. That wish didn't
come true. In fact, it snowed almost six inches in just
three hours.
I wanted to get home as soon as I could to get warm.
Unfortunately, I live right below Old Main. That's one
tough hill to climb down in the winter, especially when
the sidewalks haven't been cleared and the snowplow
hasn't come through yet.
I made it halfway down the hill when I reached the
dirty slush from all the cars that had driven by. That's
when it happened. I fell. And not just once, but three
times! It was bad enough that I was dirty and wet from
all the slush, but there were a bunch of other students
around. Most of them laughed, until they fell, too.
By the time I got home, I was drenched. I didn't think
anything too horrible had happened. When I woke up the
next day, however, I discovered I was wrong. My shoulder
was so sore it felt like someone had ripped my arm off.
I could barely lift it. I walked around all day in complete
pain. I was miserable.
That's what snow does to me. It makes me miserable.
Although I have some type of phobia of snow, there
are some things I like. Snow makes all of Cache Valley
look beautiful. The trees are blanketed in white, the
mountains look like glaciers, and the snow makes everything
it rests on sparkle and shimmer. There's also some amusement
in watching people fall down the hill. Other than that,
I think snow should leave me alone. A lot of people
might think I'm crazy for being afraid of the snow,
but I'm just tired of getting hurt and being embarrassed.
NW
MS |
