Writing Assignment

Note: I was assigned to write 500 words about the weather and I figured I would post it on here. There isn’t any real point to it, just a smattering of thoughts relative to the weather, which I hope you enjoy reading, haha. The picture was taken this afternoon outside of Ben’s house.

As I sit here staring out of the office window I’m reminded of my fondness for the desert and all of its glory. Although the only thing I see is snow covered trees and bushes I can’t help but think about the mountains that stretch around the Valley of the Sun, the way they lay in the same lazy fashion as a cat, minding their own business while everyone watches in admiration.

Currently the snow is falling down from the sky at an angle, similar to the way the dust storms swirl around when they are powered by a violent gust of wind forming a sand devil. The snow, however, is quite gentle as it silently falls to the ground during the darkest hours of the night. Upon waking up the following morning you discover a whole new perspective of what lies beyond the walls of your house. Everything is covered in a thick layer of white, the reflection of the sun glistening off every angle of every branch, causing your eyes to adjust to its beauty.

Through many failed attempts I’ve tried to appreciate the scenery beyond the walls of this house, in a well-defined comparison with the landscape of Arizona, though only finding success when it snows. It’s difficult to feel anything beyond disgust as I drive through the winding roads of my hometown only to see naked trees, empty flower beds, and a general sense of overwhelming lifelessness around me.

Sometimes I’ll close my eyes and imagine myself walking along Tempe Town Lake, which is just north of Arizona State University, feeling the light breeze coming off the water and a drop of sweat falling down from my forehead which awakens me from my reverie reminding me that its 104° and that it’s time to get back to school because I’ll be late for my lab. Then reality slaps me in the face and the feeling of a cold New Jersey winter takes over my body, causing a spasm of goose bumps to form on the surface of my skin.

Returning home for a few months does have its perks though. It means no more circular off-ramp’s towards Sky Harbor International that resemble a circle of death, no more last minute hugs and kisses, no more painful goodbyes as I part ways with my beloved as he returns back home, it means no more tear-filled eyes as I pull away from the curb, and no more arriving home only 10 minutes later to find that my spotlessly clean apartment has that same lonely feel as it did before he arrived.

Instead it means waking up every day next to the man I will someday marry, it means planning our two week long adventure to London and Paris in early September, and it means a whole new frontier for the two of us as we now plan our triumphant return to the place we adore, a place we prefer to call home, a place called Arizona.

As I pause between thoughts to indulge in yet another cigarette, I find my eyes being drawn to the scene outside the living room windows. The first thought that comes to mind is that it’s stifling white out there. Then I picture a twelve-armed cactus covered in snow and laugh a little bit at the thought only to realize that I’m getting distracted.

After clicking through my Gmail, Google Reader, Facebook, and Twitter I find that not much else has changed except the genuine like or dislike of the current weather conditions. If only those people could be inspired by a place like I am by Phoenix, by the naturalistic beauty of the landscaping, by the vibrantly colored sunsets, and the relentless sun as it shines down upon the desert every day. Never have I seen a complaint about the sun on my Facebook news feed or a Tweet about how last night sunset was awful in comparison to the night before that. But then again how can one not be inspired by such an enchanting place?

Despite my deeply rooted hatred for New Jersey and for the ridiculously cold winters, I have to remind myself that the snow is a beautiful thing, which must be appreciated for its simplistic beauty and not for the troubles it may sometimes cause. And snow it falls.