Dear Readers,
I met Snow for the first time only a year ago. I watched as my people here embraced her like a childhood friend, and I introduced myself, giddy and awkward. I pretended, for a while, that nothing had changed. My odd resistance to snow boots and scarves proved it. But ice is slippery, and sometimes it’s a mirror, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that something has changed this winter. I have new gloves now, and my reluctance to wear boots is fading, but there’s also this shift in the atmosphere here at Brown. With every huddled walk in the cold, every coffee run, and every shared hope and grief, it feels like we’re slowly trusting that the most beautiful joys lie in staying warm together.
The snow hasn’t left our campus yet. It nestles in the corners of Thayer, and curls around the bouquets near the Van Wickle Gates, and basks in the light of the Main Green’s lampposts every evening. It smoothens the rubble and missteps and hurt that shook our community, and we continue to love and live over it anyway. Our issue this week shimmers with these themes of renewal and connection. In Feature, Coco unpacks the transcendent magic of snow and its vivid sensory experience. In Narrative, Ana writes a love letter to Providence and the memories she’s made here, and Coco returns with a piece on the freedom and vulnerability in play. A&C also brims with change and hope, with Sara’s piece on patriotism and finding grace at Brown and Indigo’s sensitive exploration of personal transformation when capturing love in art. Yana’s Lifestyle piece sparkles with introspection as she reflects on snow and connection, while Alayna’s whimsical double features in post-pourri and Crossword break the ice with Valentine’s Day pickup lines and Winter Olympics trivia.
Lovely readers, can I let you in on a secret? I didn’t learn the cold all at once. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve learnt it at all. But this community and its bustle and its gentle strength are a more beautiful lesson than I could have hoped for. And speaking of hope, may this week’s pieces be little nuggets of joy you can tuck into your coat pockets to keep your spirits warm.
Yours,
Tarini Malhotra
post-pourri Managing Editor
