(17, NY, USA) Anonymous - January

If you haven’t grown up in Upstate New York, you might not know of the culture of attitudes we have surrounding snow. Ever since moving here, I have grown accustomed to the familiar eye roll and sigh that is produced after peering out the window; even a quick glance at the weather app tends to draw groans all around. I never understood these types of reactions. Having lived in a place where if white flakes were falling from the sky, you’d be seriously concerned, the normality of the chilly weather here is no surprise. Sure, snow can be an inconvenience in travel, and unless you are into outdoor sporting endeavors, might be best enjoyed from the comfort of a heated home: but can’t it be a little magical? To know that so many people will never experience snow, who would love to see it one day? A lot of people forget that this type of weather is not universal at all. I could assume that some regions in the Southern Hemisphere experience times of extreme heat, which don’t bring joy to the communities. We each have our own weather abnormalities. This attitude I’ve noticed in New York and across the country is dangerous. We only acknowledge the downsides of where we live, and completely omit everything else. This mindset will never lead to happiness, and it’s about time we shifted our way of thinking. Maybe there’s snow and a lack of sunshine, but have we forgotten how the landscape turns picturesque when the leaves turn colorful? Or how we are surrounded by lakes carved into the land that are unlike anywhere else on the planet? We can find magic wherever we are. That is when we will learn to finally, understand gratitude and find happiness in our environment.