How to Tackle Boredom During Snow Days in College

A few weeks ago, a good chunk of the United States was hit with a huge snowstorm. Many schools, universities, stores, restaurants, etc. shut down and warned people to be prepared to stay put for a few days. West Chester University was one of these places, and us students were told to either leave the campus or stay inside our dorms or apartments, as the university had planned to shut down. This was my first experience with college snow days, and I wasn’t able to go back home, so I really had no clue what to expect. After experiencing the few days pretty much locked in my dorm with the occasional trip to the dining hall, the only place open, I had come up with a good list of things to do during snow days. My list included things you could do inside or outside, with or without other people, and everything in between. 

Indoor Activities 

Being stuck indoors and not having the ability to go anywhere can be really boring and annoying, especially when at your college, where there are usually tons of things to do around campus. I know I felt like the only thing to do was scroll aimlessly on my phone, but there is so much more to do that really takes no effort at all. You could start a new show or listen to a new album you’ve been wanting to forever and never had the time. You could do some organizing of your closet, backpack, or even revamp your phone’s home/lock screens. A personal at-home spa day and doing your nails are other things that you might have been wanting to do for a while but never seem to get around to. 

If you are with other people, it could be fun to host little competitions with each other. For example, a reading marathon to see who could read the most books within a certain amount of time, a board game night, or a baking competition. You could also get to know each other a bit more, especially if you are new roommates and don’t know too much about each other’s backgrounds and lives before coming to college. To take up some time, it could be nice to reach out to people you haven’t seen or talked to in a while, especially if you know they are alone during the storm. It’s always nice to catch up with people, and what better time than when you have nothing else to do?

Outdoor Activities

The first thing I think of when I hear that snow is coming is back when I used to play in the snow when I was younger with my brothers. Being in college now, I didn’t really know if people would actually go outside and have fun, so it kind of made me sad and wish that I were back home. But as soon as I woke up on the first day of the blizzard, other students were already outside having a blast, so my friends and I decided to join in on the fun. Of course, there’s the basic stuff that everyone knows about, like sledding, snowball fights, building snowmen, and so on, but what if I told you that there are so many more fun things to do, too? 

You could host fun competitions between your group of friends outside, too, like snowman building tournaments, who can make the biggest snowball, or who is using the most unusual item as a sled. A lot of these games could also make fun TikTok videos as well, and maybe even become a new trend. Speaking of TikTok, a trend I saw a lot over the span of the snowstorm was people making ice cream in the snow. I know, it seems kind of strange, right? But it actually is pretty simple. All you need is your ice cream ingredients for whatever kind you want to make, a bowl (preferably metal), and ice cream salt. Then, once outside, you mold a little hole in the snow, the perfect size for your bowl, and sprinkle the salt inside it. After that, you make the ice cream as you normally would, but in the snow. By the time you’re done mixing everything, you’ll have a soft serve consistency perfect to enjoy back indoors. 

Though the thought of snowstorms and blizzards can be kind of scary, there is so much to look forward to if you take a look at other things to do rather than lying around being sad or bored. These little breaks in our normally scheduled lives are really blessings in disguise, forcing us to relax and catch up on things we’ve been wanting to do but never had the time, or have a little more fun and whimsy than we are used to. I hope next time we have another big snowstorm, these fun ideas help bring some joy into your lives!

• #winter
• blizzard
• boredom
• college
• snowdays