By Julmar Carcedo ’16. 

Today I woke up on a beautiful “snow day.” It’s in quotations because it’s not just a normal day with snow but classes were cancelled due to heavy snowfall. To some extent, there’s some kind of grandeur that comes when one’s university officially recognizes that there’s just too much snow for us to function. As a lucky resident of Slater Hall with a view of the Main Green, I woke up today admiring the beautiful snowfall through my window.

Julmar’s view of a snowy sunset in February 2016. Photo courtesy of the author.

This is my senior year at Brown so the snow doesn’t seem as magical now as it used to be when I first saw it four years ago. However, I cannot help but feel a sudden jolt of happiness admiring the snow from my room. The thing is… I come from this tropical country called the Philippines. There is literally zero chance that it would snow where I’m from. But I guess this is why Filipinos have a great fascination with snow.

Julmar’s first time seeing snow in 2012. Photo courtesy of the author.

Snow to us means something more. It means progress. Since most of the snow in the world is found in developed countries (such as the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Korea), Filipinos usually correlate snow with progress. So, if you’re Filipino and you get to see snow in person, you have ACHIEVED progress.

You made it that far – literally because you’ve flown out of the country and figuratively because it’s neither cheap nor easy to travel (visa restrictions). You’ve gone far enough in your journey to progress that you have finally seen snow, an opportunity that millions of Filipinos are not afforded with.

This is probably why I endure every winter in Providence. The snow is a beautiful reminder that being here at Brown means that I have come far in my journey towards progress. I try to share photos/videos of snow on Facebook because, in a way, I am an astronaut to my fellow Filipinos – giving them a glimpse of places that they might unfortunately never get to see. On the bright side, perhaps, I inspire some of them to never give up on their journey to progress… because progress is beautiful. Snow is beautiful, too.