A Morning Walk to School in the Rain

Morning. The time of day that can be greatly affected by ones mood. This particular morning I was awoken by my roommate Cole, before my alarm. “Zach my car won’t start, I left the dome light on after I got home last night, can I borrow your car?” Half asleep, I asked if it was raining, remembering that it was suppose to rain that day. Cole said no, so I said yes. I thought to myself, this is perfect I need to walk for my project anyway. About a half hour later I got out of bed and proceeded to get ready for the day. Remembering that it might rain, I grabbed a coat and was out the door.

I put my ear buds in and with a few touches was immersed in Morcheeba. It was cloudy and around 45 degrees. My journey from home to school is six blocks long, I walk up one street, Third Avenue, from 19th to 25th. So immediately the task at hand, walking to school does not seem daunting. As I began to walk, I thought, nice, I’m actually walking to school. I have only walked to school a few times; now in my fourth semester. It was invigorating I could feel the blood pumping through my body as I became quite comfortable with the climate. As I passed houses, apartments, and Morrison Park, Minneapolis College of Art and Design was in sight. As luck would have it, it began to rain.

At first I was mad at Cole for needing my car, he should’ve been more responsible. After a few more steps I realized that I was actually mad at myself. Why do I dislike rain so much? I thought about how it is natural to be outside in the environment with the elements of the weather. It occurred to me that the coat that I had grabbed in case of rain was actually protecting me from feeling the rain, even though I didn’t really need the protection for survival.

Looking back, I made it to school on time and only slightly wet. I actually viewed the rain as a force invading my personal space. The rain and I are not opposing forces; we are both natural systems who coexist in the same environment. Through human invention, we have created abstract vehicles that enclose us off from the natural world. If Cole had not needed my car, I would have taken it. Since I didn’t drive a car that morning, I will no longer use rain as a barrier to walking.