"Untitled" by: Marleo Neolien

Marleo Neolien, 12th

Spring has sprung, yet the flowers haven’t come. Rain is still persisting in its musical sequence of downpour daily, inducing joy in the little children that jump in its puddles. Many think that storms are a negative part of spring, that one can't find joy in their occurrence because of the lack of sunshine. However, storms are a sense of hope—hope that all earthly beings will continue to persist in their existence. As the rain falls, the tiny seedlings in the ground waiting for their germination finally get a taste of life. As the rain falls, birds creeping around on the branches of trees can finally bathe themselves in the fresh water from the sky. And as the rain falls, I, too, feel the refreshing sense of life as it trickles down my windowsill.

Rain gives everything a new start, a second chance at hope, precisely what one needs amid turning seasons.

When spring comes, one expects immediate rays of the sun to radiate on their cheeks and the beautiful aroma of flowers to flow through the air. Thus when this doesn’t come immediately, many seem to lose hope. But when I see the gray clouds forming in the seemingly gloomy sky of early spring, I know the hope that is discretely present in our world— that spring is coming and that the sun will rise again. So as I sit by my windowsill, watching the pure children dance in the rain, I see a chance at fulfillment and happiness in life that I couldn't find in the sunshine. Page 28