Rain.

You'd think, with the wonderfully beautiful weather we had during finals week, that once finals were over the weather would cooperate and I wouldn't have to deal with this rain.

But no. It's raining. It was raining yesterday and it has been raining off and on today, and it's not helping my mood to be better.

Rain makes me want to do two things: go on a walk/curl up in a small ball and read. And sleep. Sleeping in the rain is one of the best feelings.

I really do like rain. Rain is lovely and wonderful.

But when I want it to be summery, rain is not quite what I need. I need sunshine, light just dripping from the sky, heat snaking its way through walls and windows and into my bed, making my dreams warm and vivid and colorful. I need that urge to go do something, dance to songs that share that heated feeling of summer, to go on walks to try and quench the heat, to pull up my hair because the weight and heat is too much for my poor neck. I need bright blue skies that make me want to sing, stiff wind, and color in flowers and trees bursting in the bright sunshine.

I need to go to the beach, cool water trying to counteract the heat the sunlight is playing on my bare skin, my pale skin that I know I shouldn't leave out in the sun like this but I do anyway, because it's the beach and I like how it feels and there's nothing wrong with being a little sunkissed. I need ice cream, sitting with friends and family, trying to eat it all before it melts, and laughing as little children fail, their faces smeared with sweetness as they smile and try to hug you, you pushing them away so as not to fall into the same sticky situation.

I need the feel of grass on my bare feet, the coolness as my toes relax, the heat from the pavement gone as I seek a few moments' respite from the pounding heat that threatens to set fire to my little toes.

Long nights, late nights with friends, out long after the sun has gone down, talking about everything and nothing at the same time, the breeze sending little shivers down my arms as the world cools until the sun rises again tomorrow.