Picture waking up to a beautiful winter wonderland of trees dusted with snow and a blanket of white, sparkling, as it covers the ground.  The sight of snow and the thought of snowmen and sledding ironically bring a feeling of warmth. It is only then, I realize the sidewalk is no longer visible as the layer of snow grows with every passing minute.  Outside is a merciless wilderness-- the wind howls through the trees, and Jack Frost nips at noses of those who are brave enough to enter this icy jungle.  Every step is a step into uncertainty; legs penetrate the ice cold abyss, not knowing if there will be ice waiting to attack.  You can only hope that where snow has been cleared, there won’t be black ice waiting to make you slip and throw your textbook into the street.  Adults say to bundle up and stay warm, but what good does it do me if ever inch of my shoes fill with snow until my legs are numb sticks of purple and red?  The only chance of survival is if people walk in the streets-- that’s the only place where snow is plowed away.

The worst part of it all isn’t the trek through three feet of snow everyday to get to and from school, it’s that it could be solved by a simple tool: the shovel.  I don’t know if people have heard about it, but it’s this nifty device that can clear away snow anywhere, including the sidewalk. But instead, people shovel their driveways, then neglect the seven feet of sidewalk on the edges of their driveway; eventually the beautiful flakes of white grow to a mountain of ice.  It only takes a little more effort to do a lot more good for those who have to walk to school in winter, so why does almost no one take another minute to clear a path? Shoveling your driveway is a kindness to yourself; shoveling the sidewalk is a kindness to everyone else. It amazes me that when I show up to school with snow caked on my jeans up to my knees, people will ask, “how’d you get all that snow on you?”, and it doesn’t necessarily occur to anyone that the carelessness of certain adults is why I have snow melting into my jeans and freezing my shins.