The clouds above were beginning to clear up to reveal the baby blue sky as a gentle breeze blew across my arm. After months of pattering rain and gloomy days, it was nice to be enveloped by the warmth of the sun.
I thought, so this is spring? What’s not to love, right?
That was until I sneezed so hard that my rib cages squished my lungs out of place. In that moment, flashbacks of every spring rushed into my mind. I, in fact, do not love spring.
With the arrival of spring comes allergies.
As someone with pollen allergies, I can’t survive outdoors without sneezing every few minutes or rubbing my eyes. The incessant itching doesn’t go away and my nose runs uncontrollably. Unfortunately, no amount of Claritin or over-the-counter medicine can help.
In a world of survival of the fittest, I’m repeatedly knocked out at the same time each year as soon as the flowers start blooming. While I can get through the winter months without catching a cold, I don’t stand a chance against the little seedlings in the air once spring rolls around.
I stand under the sun a minute longer until I feel another sneeze come up. With a big achoo and an annoying shake of my head, I decided to head back home.
The campus seemed more busy than usual. With the sun above, more students were out and about filling up the Glade until almost no green showed through at a glance. Despite the cheerful atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread as I made my way through the crowd. I felt jealous of everyone who wasn’t suffering from the inability to breathe through their nose properly.
However, while my physical self isn’t capable of handling the change, I can appreciate spring’s captivating beauty. With the bright colors all around me and the flowers blooming in unison, I find myself drawn to the bushes on the street. Even though my body is screaming at me to turn away, I feel my hand reaching out to pick a rose off the bush.
Once I had the rose in my possession, I felt contentment spread throughout my body.
I contemplated, how could something so beautiful be so bad for me?
With that thought, my body responded with another sneeze.
I let out a sigh and continued on my way home with the rose in hand.