By Mikayla Gleeson
Winter in Nyack feels loud in a way that is hard to explain until you are living inside it. Not loud like a concert or a crowded game night, but loud in the background, constantly present, always there while you are trying to focus, rest, or just make it through the day.
As students, our days already feel packed. Add winter and everything gets heavier. The mornings start in the dark, when alarms go off too early and the house is still quiet except for the heater clicking on and off. Outside, the noise slowly builds. Cars slide carefully over icy roads. Buses hiss as they stop. Boots crunch against salt and snow. By the time you get to school, the quiet is completely gone.
Winter quiet is a myth. Even snow cannot silence Nyack. It only changes the pitch. The plows groan through the streets at night, pushing piles of snow that crunch under tires the next morning. Cafes clink with mugs and low conversations. The bell at school cuts clean through everything, sharp and final, before dissolving back into chatter and footsteps.
There is music in it if you listen closely. The rhythm of a bus stopping at the corner. The steady tap of heaters clicking on and off. The murmur of classmates trading weekend stories while waiting for class to start. None of it stands out on its own, but together it creates a sound that feels like home.
Sometimes the noise is overwhelming. Winter can make everything feel louder because the days are shorter and the walls close in faster. But the busy background noise reminds us that we are not alone in the cold. It is proof that life keeps moving even when the world looks frozen.
Nyack in winter is not silent. It breathes. It hums. It surrounds us with small sounds that fade into the background, until one day you notice their absence and realize how much they mattered.