Sunshine?

"This city's made us crazy and we must get out."
80 degrees one day, snowing the next day. Welcome to Syracuse, NY.

The unpredictable weather has a way of making stressful situations worse than they are. I spent the entire day in the library the other day. When I walked out of my room in the morning, it was hot and sunny - no sign of rain, none in the forecast for the next two days. I left the library about 12 hours later and encountered the pouring rain. To my dismay, I lacked both a jacket and an umbrella. That was the last thing I needed.

The unpredictable weather has a way of making life a little better. I stood in the rain the very next day and looked toward the sky and laughed. I let it wash away everything I was worrying about for just that single moment. Sweet cliché, Ali. It's true though. I felt lighter.

This time of year is stressful for everyone. There is just so much to do and certainly not enough time to do it. I always think the spring semester ends more stressfully (did I make that word up? I'm pretty sure I did) than the fall semester. I'll tell you how we survive it in Syracuse: the sunshine. Seriously, we let sunny days control us up here. My piles of homework watch me from my dorm room window as my friends and I spend time just being outside, letting the sun just soak into our skin. By the time April comes around, it's been so long since the sun made an appearance in Syracuse that we surrender to it.

I think my energy comes back to life along with the rest of the world during spring. It's amazing how much the weather has an effect on how I look at life. I'm not even one of those people that loves sunshine all that much. To be entirely honest, most times I prefer the rain. But Syracuse gets a little carried away with the precipitation that I am just so thankful to feel that warmth.

For some reason, warm days up here are always good days.