Letter of Recommendation: Snow Globes

Christmas, 2016.
After unpacking stockings and cycling through the family, opening gifts, the number of boxes left to rip open was dwindling. When it was once again my turn to unwrap a gift, I reached for the pile of wrapped parcels received from my parents, a guaranteed place to find something given with the amount of thought only a parent could provide. I settled upon a small, cubical box with colorful paper.

Inside, I found a snow globe. It had a heavy metal base, and contained within its cold glass sphere the shining, silver skyline of New York City. I wound up the dial on the bottom, and listened to the music box twinkle the tune of New York, New York as snow fell in the Big Apple.

It was, as I was informed, in preparation for my trip to New York that March with the school (my sister received a snow globe as well, except hers was small and colorful, with palm trees inside and “Florida” inscribed in Comic Sans on the side.) Over the next few months, I poured my excitement for the trip into the snow globe. Some nights, as I slipped into bed, I would wind up the music box on the bottom and listen to the twinkling melody as I fell asleep envisioning New York City. While toiling over homework late at night, I would disturb the artificial flakes within and watch as they settled back onto that miniature panorama. It became a symbol for what I anticipated and hoped for.

Snow globes are receptacles for dreams. Their chemically entombed landscapes are our memories, hopes, and visions. A snow globe transports us to another place – a place within our minds. They can become a symbol for what a physical location means in our minds or our imaginations.

I spent my spring break that year seeing all the sights of New York City. Though the experience was phenomenal, the details are not important. However, after I returned, the symbolism of the snow globe shifted. After I had visited New York, it represented less of what may be, but rather what was, and the anticipation was replaced with memories. To this day, I still view that snow globe, in all of its metallic glory, and glimpse New York City.