Photo courtesy of Hannah Dunn

Communications junior Hannah Dunn traveled to Syracuse, N.Y. during her winter break. She saw snow for the first time.

As a southern girl, I was raised on sweet tea and the comforting feel of sticky Florida air.  

I am 17-years old, and the farthest “north” I have gone is South Carolina. This winter break I decided to make the brave excursion to upstate New York. It was so north that it was only two hours away from Canada.

I have always dreamt about living in a northern city, like any southern teenager, and I was finally going to experience a New York Christmas. The hot, moist Florida air was replaced with a frigid wind. I felt like all of the blood in my veins was freezing, but I was thrilled to be in New York.         

Like a true southerner, the first thing I wanted to do was find somewhere to get a sweet tea. When I got to my aunt’s house, I asked her for tea to which she retorted with a mean scorn before she spit out “What the heck is sweet tea?” At that moment, the room started spinning. I was seeing stars, and I was sure it was all going to end right then and there. Though New Yorkers lacked the best beverage in the world, they made up for it with snow. On the first night of my visit, they had the first snow of the winter, which was truly more exciting to me than being in the city itself. I had never seen snow before. I sat, watching the snowflakes hit the ground.      

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. As soon as I was exposed to the horrors of driving through a snowstorm, I realized it was truly the worst thing that nature has created. My car was sliding from side to side on the road. Snow covered the lanes and the street signs, making any sort of safe navigation almost impossible. Add all of the angry New Yorkers speeding past me. I really did fear for my life. Now I get why everyone comes to Florida for the winter.   

But, the thing that really made my trip special were the truly genuine, kind-hearted people who lived there. Walking down the streets of New York was like walking through a school hallway. It’s a familiar setting. When you slow down to take in all of the sights around you,  you often hear sweet comments like “move out of the way” or “could you walk any slower?” It is both comforting and reassuring.

I left New York with a bitter, unsweetened tea taste in my mouth. I realized that unlike many southerners, I don’t have the desire to move to the “big apple.” New York is magical, but it doesn’t compare to the beautiful and tropical Florida.

Nothing was better than stepping off that plane into the hot and muggy air.