Illustration by Cara Seccafien
Sun is great, but overrated
By Jessica Berget, Opinions Editor
There is nothing better than staying in on a rainy day. Getting snug under some blankets with a warm beverage in hand and watching TV or reading a book as you listen to the soft pitter-patter of the rain hitting your roof is exactly what I would describe as pure bliss. Rainy and cloudy days are just so cozy. However, I have found that rainy days are grossly under-appreciated, even hated by some people, and it breaks my rain-filled heart.
Most often when it’s raining or cloudy outside I hear people bitterly complain about what an ugly and grey day it is, but is it really that bad? To me, this seems like a superficial way to look the weather, and only serves to set you up for a bad day. Besides, grey is a great colour. Just because the sun isn’t shining doesn’t automatically make every other kind of weather awful. Yes, the sun is nice and there is more you can do outside when it is sunny, but if it were like this everyday I don’t think people would praise it as much. You need the rain to appreciate the sunny days.
Who says you can’t appreciate the weather from inside the comfort of your own home? Rainy and cloudy days are great for—no, made for—just staying inside. It takes away the guilt from not being outside that sunny days make worse (at least for me anyway). It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to lie in bed all day with a good book or a show while you listen to the rain and just allow yourself to be lazy, which is exactly the kind of weather I am all about. Let’s be honest, everyone needs an excuse to be lazy once in a while, and rainy days are the perfect day to do it. The sound of the rain hitting the roof or windows is so soothing, even therapeutic, and it’s even more relaxing looking out the window and watching the rain hit the ground. Even if admiring the rain isn’t your thing, use it as an excuse to nap all day. It’s a win-win.
Rain is essential to the earth; we need rain to just live on this planet. It provides water to all plants and living beings, including us. You can hate rain as much as you want, but we do depend on it for our ecosystem quite a bit, so to hate on it is odd to me.
Being outside in the rain isn’t even that bad—actually, its great so long as you are dressed for it. One of my favourite things to do when it’s raining out is jumping in puddles (because apparently, I am 10 years old). Most people completely avoid being outside in the rain but miss out on some of the best parts about it.
If you’re going to live in as rainy of a city as Vancouver, I think you should learn to appreciate it occasionally. People also seem to forget the most beautiful part about the rain; the rainbow that comes after it.
