On the morning of January 8th, Davis students were welcomed back to their beautiful campus and the start of a new quarter with – you guessed it – endlessly pouring rain.
All day in the dreary shadow of gray clouds, hundreds of students huddled under their umbrellas and zipped up tight in rain jackets shuffling across campus from class to class. The unfortunate few who decided that biking to class like normal would be a good idea were very, very wrong and suffered for the rest of the day with damp pants, cold hands, and wet socks (myself included).
It seems to be that for every student who’s actually experienced rain in their hometown or on travels, there seems to be an equal number of those who are completely mind-boggled by the fact that water is falling from the sky.
1. Get a rain jacket/boots.
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I feel like this one is fairly self-explanatory, but we’ve all been that person who, of course on the day that the sky decides to dump bucket loads of water on people, finds themselves without a shield for their body or feet. I highly recommend getting a jacket with a fuzzy lining, because who doesn’t want to be warm and cozy when it’s freezing and wet out? Bonus points if you jump into very large puddles with rain boots (because everyone wants to let out their inner child on a rainy day).
2. Get a fender. Seriously.
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Every UC Davis student knows about the freshman stripe. I learned about it before I even came to Davis, from my dad who was a graduate student in the 90s. It is a tale as old as time, and an image everyone has seen: the sorry-looking first-year student fender-less with an ugly wet and muddy stripe right up their bike from going through puddle after puddle. Save yourself the trouble (and cleanup) and invest in a decent bike that actually has a fender, as they can be somewhat difficult to install yourself.
3. Find your favorite comfort food and dig in!
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Rainy days are perfect for indulging in all the hot and delicious foods that brings any soul comfort and joy. Instead of struggling to get an inside table at your favorite restaurant downtown, spend some quality time in the kitchen and make yourself (and/or others!) a home-cooked meal.
Dishes like soups, pastas, or savory pies are usually fairly easy to make with just a few ingredients and are very much worth the warm fuzzy feelings you get in your stomach when you take a bite. Remind yourself that the dreariness won’t last forever.
Photo source: Unsplash
With rain pouring down and dreary gray clouds blocking any glimpse of the sun, it can be difficult to struggle through a crummy day when even the weather seems like it, too, is crying over term papers and chemistry labs.
Try to find peace in the sound of raindrops hitting pavement and pipes and make it an excuse to make yourself some tea and open a good book or snuggle into a blanket and watch a movie.
Soon enough, the skies will clear and the sun will make its way out to give us a glimmer of hope for the spring. And in plenty of time, every student in Davis will be complaining about the 100-degree scorching weather that will be tormenting everyone for spring and summer.
Cover image source: Pexels