“Colder Than the Snow” by Amenah Syed was a melodramatic example of a meaningful memoir.  She forgot her gloves in the winter of fourth grade, and the coldness was unbearable, so her friend gave her a glove.  Everything was fine until Spurthi, her friend, fell, and her hand became badly scratched. Maya had helped her to the nurse, while she had done nothing.  Amenah felt as though if she hadn’t been so careless as to forget her gloves, the most minor of injuries could have been prevented. This incident chills her ‘till this day, though it is something so insignificant.

I found that the article had a great theme of how beautiful things can be cruel, but the story was drawn out and made to be more horrible than it actually was.  She acts as though it has ruined winter, but I doubt Spurthi even remembers it. For example, the line “Snow is cold, but some memories are colder - memories that will chill me forever” makes you believe that what happened was the most painful memory of her life, yet all that happened was her friend fell.  She makes this dramatic as well, as well as her reaction. She demonizes herself for freezing at the sight of blood. The repetitive nature is too meaningful for a short story like this. Overall, “Colder Than the Snow” was overly exaggerated for such a small problem.