It starts off slowly: the soft growl of thunder, the beat of a raindrop or two, and without warning, everything is suddenly striped by falling rain – the long strokes painting the landscape with the sort of still rawness only capable by nature. The warm blues and greens and browns of nature melt away and are replaced by a stinging grayness and coldness that is oddly soothing in its cruelty. Nothing can so outstrip the naked eye as the steady and familiar rain.
Some welcome the sight with smiles and suppressed sighs; others shake their fists at the sky. For the common green-clad student who has already spent many a time in the nooks and corners of our beloved university, rain has been far too customary a sight. This month, delve into the contrasts of rain – as a unique entity that prevails as both a friend and a foe.
Friend: welcoming the wet season
Summer lives burn in the fire of transient hearts, kept close with a sanity that craves for the next adventure. Here come the middle days of May and the joy of summer starts to sizzle away, leaving behind dry devastation as its sediment. Fortunately, the sun decides to make itself a little scarcer everyday, disappearing into the sky’s gray transformation. The first chill – the pleasant, personal message of the weather – arrives and sheer anticipation of the cozy days to come already warms your toes. Until the rain falls, it is only half perfect.
Foe: a weather defense festival
As immediate as the downpour, Twitter and Facebook get flooded with the jubilations of the blissful. At least five people you follow tweet “rain<3” or “#hotcocoa” – fabulous. Or at least, that’s how it is until the usual order of life resumes, which is always a little too soon for any Lasallian.
Floods, (much) heavier traffic, and the general chaos of a metropolitan douse call for mindfulness in order to keep one’s health and educational attendance in line. A checklist of rainy day essentials is necessary, which should always include an umbrella or raincoat, a charged (and loaded) cellphone, and Vitamin C-boosted immunity, and perhaps some arm floaties – there is no telling.
Friend: the perfect excuse for comfort
There’s a certain something about rain that makes everything seem so soothing and bubbly, isn’t it? Rain is a comfort blanket for most of us after a long day. The chilly winds and soft pitter-patter of raindrops render cups of steaming coffee or hot chocolate all the more enticing. Rain brings out the creativity in us: from curling up with a good book to staring at our rain-streaked window panes, our mind tends to wander and all sorts of neat ideas pop up. It makes for a perfect moment for students to sit by, shameless, aimless, at a café; and let us not forget the heaps of soulful music that can synchronize cozy feelings with the weather.
Foe: colds, chills and caveats
The thing about being in college and commuting is that we are perennially exposed to the unpredictability of weather. One minute, we are soaking up the sunshine and the next, drenched in icy rain. The abrupt change in temperature is mostly to blame for our runny noses and headaches, which serve only to prevent us from accomplishing anything. Being sick is never something to rejoice about, not when thesis requirements, proposals and projects are due the next morning and our minds are too befuddled from the intrusion of viruses – all thanks to rain and its unforgiving tenacity.
Friend: sensory overload
Rain appeals to the senses, as much as nothing almost ever could. The misty scent of rain and smoke and the earthy aroma of mud tickle our noses, the sight of everything post-rain captivates the eyes, and the flavor of our favorite comfort foods – think hot Honey Schisandra from Café de Seoul or smoking and greasy slabs of patties from Zark’s Burgers – satisfy our taste buds. Hear the tires go swish-swish and boots flopping around in puddles; feel the silky moisture of raindrops on your skin; see the grass look greener under the fresh shower, and tell us that rain does not open a whole new world for us.
Foe: schoolwork overload
While rain – excepting the mild, dewy sort – may provide a short reprieve from the stress and tension brought about by loads of schoolwork (think cancelled classes), the succeeding days spent in school are never enjoyable – not when it implies breezy Fridays and Saturdays spent in make-up lectures or when quizzes pile up on each other. The only good thing that comes out of this is the opportunity to learn (of course!) and to see your study buddies. Even so, this stuff can happen at any other day of the week. Schoolwork, we implore thee to leave our rest days alone.
Lasallians can all agree that when seeing the first drops of rain outside the window while the professor doodles on the board can bring out that feeling of both excitement and fear. Excitement from the little lazybug within that jumps for joy for the possibility of cancelled classes; fear for one’s life that maybe going home today can mean life or death, or the fear that your newly cut hair and sleek new shoes might be a waste when those drops tarnish them both. One thing prevails through all of this, there will come no day that rain won’t come visiting the streets of Taft. Rain will always come to our beloved school, no doubt in that. The best thing Lasallians can hope for out of it is… well, that’s up to you.
