Ode to the Snow Day

Growing up, the excitement of a potential Snow Day was a privilege to all Canadians, a reward for withstanding brutal winters on an annual basis. One of the greatest advantages of a Snow Day was the chance to sleep in, even though your excitement would awaken you in the wee hours of the morning “just to check.” No one would check the weather this much in the Summer, but, in the Winter, we know the cancellation buzzwords. Snow? Maybe. Blizzard? Promising. Ice? Definitely.

As we transitioned into university students, Snow Days started to stop meaning a day to play in the snow and started meaning a day to breathe, to catch up, to be gifted a break. Since the pandemic, however, our technological advancements have resulted in the Snow Days' undoing. “Class canceled due to weather” has become “class moved online.” Where is our “I live in an unforgivingly cold climate” privilege? Where is our break? There will be class. If not in person, then in your home. 

Never again will we wake up at 6:00 am, check our phones, smile, then cozy back into our warm beds for a deep and restful slumber. Indeed, we Canadian Gen Z-ers have had to say goodbye to many school-related joys over the years: the rainbow parachute from gym class, lessons from Bill Nye on a TV that rolled into the classroom, and the swag of being able to draw that Superman S.

We knew the day would come for “Snow Days”. Indeed, most professions don’t even have them. I guess I thought we just could have had a little longer…