Rainy days spark calm feelings in spite of gloomy nature

The rain is dreary, melancholy, glum. The rain is beautiful, tranquil, charming. It is a patter against your window, a chilly drop against your scalp or a scene for dancing in. 

In Oregon, rain is inevitable. It does three things: comes, goes and most importantly, stays. The rain is simply random. 

It shows up when you decide to ditch your jacket at home or the night you planned to go stargazing with your friends. It soils the bottom of your baggy jeans and makes your curly hair double in size. The sight of it for the fifth day in a row makes you snarl your lip and sigh, “I should’ve known.” 

Coming to Lewis & Clark, I knew I would be spending many long, rainy nights rotting inside my dorm. 

However, autumn has always been my favorite season, so the combination of dark, rainy skies and a lush forest right outside my window enticed me greatly. 

The rain is my friend. It is nostalgic and ambient in a way that makes studying feel worthwhile. Sitting at my desk or lying on my bed, I peel open a book or the lid of my laptop and dissociate for hours to the distant roar of the precipitation hitting the asphalt. A hot chai or a platter of snacks at my side, I find solace in these rainy hours.

Not to say that rain is a cure-all for early school year stress. It is actually quite often the opposite. Many college students, including myself, have already started to face the effects of seasonal depression on campus. 

You know the feeling—when the skies are painted a mocking shade of gray, each week feels like it’s stretching through an endless darkness and all you can wish for is just one shred of sunlight to keep you going. 

It can be dreadful, and after living through what feels like centuries of gloom, it is easy to despise the rain.

I will admit—the descent into fall after months of infinite sunshine can be a bit jarring. After all, one of my favorite activities in the world is simply lying outside in the grass and taking a nap in the sun. 

But I believe part of mother nature’s endless changing cycle is appreciating all the elements for what they are worth, including the rain. It may be a nuisance at times, but it can also help the world feel nourished, alive and beautiful. 

On rainy days, my dorm room turns into a safe haven, sheltering me from the elements in a way that still allows me to enjoy them. Knowing that I am inside, warm and dry makes me even more appreciative of the rain. 

Whilst hedging myself from the cold, I like to reread my favorite novels, write poetry, cook and bake with my friends or enjoy cozy nights watching old films and playing nerdy board games. Rainy days I take to relax, refresh my body from the upbeat pace of life and enjoy the warmth of my belongings and loved ones.

There is no way to avoid rain in Portland. So instead of dreading that familiar pitter-patter on my window in the morning, I look forward to the feeling of the rain kissing my skin.