Every time I say it on tour I get a laugh (point for me). The hill on the edge of the golf course on campus is the best place to go sledding. I had reported this fact to a countless number of families that tour McDaniel but I had never experienced it for myself. Tuesday the Weather Channel was predicting the storm of the year. It was supposed to be the biggest snow of the winter for this area. In anticipation the big red pop-up came across the home screen of McDaniel.edu “McDaniel College will be closed from midnight to 11pm on Wednesday…” Cheers could be heard from all over campus as the campus alert caught up to each person’s phone. The tsunami of cheers then lead into a night of procrastination and late night snowball fights.
I spent my Tuesday night watching Star Wars Return of the Jedi (which was a first ever viewing) and then when I heard voiced outside, I proceeded to watch the entertainment of a snowball fight with the football players that live across the hall and other people in the North Village quad. It was an entertaining way to spend the wee hours of the morning.
Wednesday afternoon rolls around and I decided I should at least get out of bed and eat something. Then my roommate wanted to go take pictures in the snow. Well, that turned into a snowball fight very quickly. The wet, chunky snow was perfect for mashing it into clumps to chuck at your closest and most dear friends. After dinner, I headed to the golf course bundled in my 4 layers of clothing. I hadn’t been sledding in years. And never done it on McDaniel’s campus. I was ready. I felt like a child again. I and two other tour guides did Admissions proud as we cleared the large hill and two other hills sliding down to the bottom. The walk up was not so fun but a nice work out considering how lazy I had been the rest of the day.
Once we had used all the snow on that hill we relocated to what seemed to be a smaller hill but proved to require more skill. You see, this hill has a pond right at the bottom and one strong push from the top could send you swimming like a duck. Once again I slid down with the two other tour guides…we screamed as we inched closer and closer to the frigid water when finally, about a foot away, ditched the sled to stop. The laughter roared as we then had trouble finding the best way to make it back up the hill. Once we made it about halfway up, we were greeted by snowballs being thrown from all different directions. Obviously, we retaliated right away. That’s when the war began.
I had no idea whose team I was on. I couldn’t even pick one myself because I had no enemies and friends on both sides. After a few snowballs to the knee and a couple to the face and head I sat o the ground in defeat.
It has been a while since I had that much fun outside. I am not an outdoorsy person, especially in the winter, but that was the highlight of my semester so far. It was great to be out there without a care in the world just having fun with all my friends (most of which will be leaving me in May). It’s nights like these that you remember why you love being here. Its more than just the academic and professional opportunities. It’s also about the friends you make along the way. They help to shape your experience for the better and I would not be the happy person i am today if it weren’t for all of them. I don’t know what I would do without the friendships I have made t McDaniel!
Leave a Reply