Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; (802) 324-9538.
Just as a brisk walk on a warm day is all the more invigorating when the sun is already shining in the soul, a casual stroll beneath dreary clouds when you’re feeling a bit dreary yourself can truly clear the mind. There is something about the feeling of wet grass between your toes, the drizzle on your tongue, the contemplative quiet .… This week’s featured writer, Molly Silvia of Shelburne, muses over the pleasant, therapeutic solitude a sally in the rain always brings.
Walks in the rain
By Molly Silvia, 15, of Shelburne
Sometimes I go on walks in the rain. I don’t bring an umbrella or raincoat. Sometimes I don’t even wear shoes. I like to feel the raindrops trickle down my hair. I like the splashes of rain on my skin. I like to look up and let the rain soak my face, the water getting caught in my eyelashes.
I don’t know why, but there’s something calming about being in the rain. No one else is around me. I am contentedly alone. I feel free to be alive in whatever way I feel.
My neighbors probably question my sanity, but I truly don’t care. I smile and wave at them whenever they notice me. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I talk to myself, sometimes I dance, and sometimes I just walk, taking in my surroundings.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved the rain. It’s therapeutic for me. I don’t know whether it’s the rain itself, or the environment it creates, but either way it’s special to me.
