The spring equinox began on March 20 this year, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It is a season of reblooming flowers, longer days, and the advent of warmer weather— but it is also a dreadful time of enduring pollen and dust allergies and random weeks of dreary, cold rain.
One inevitability is seasonal allergies, which occurs when the body reacts to a foreign substance you are allergic to, an example being pollen, as an intruder. These reactants called allergens, form defense mechanisms, like a runny nose, to protect yourself from imminent danger.
Unfortunately, with new flowers comes the spread of pollen and thus the runny noses and wheezing that affect 50 million people nationwide. Even in the midst of a rebirth of nature, it is almost near impossible to enjoy this awakening without it invoking an itchy nose.
On top of that, the on-and-off rainy and warm weather also makes enjoying spring nature and the outdoors more difficult.
“The bipolar weather, especially in Pennsylvania, is incredibly frustrating because today, I wore a winter coat because I wasn’t sure how cold it was going to be, and I was expecting it to be cold,” senior Cypher Ross said. “And then I got outside when I was about to leave school and it was warm but still windy, so I still wanted my coat, but I couldn’t tell and it was really frustrating.”
Not much spring has been enjoyed yet since the official beginning of spring. Where one day allows for shorts and T-shirts, another calls for sweatpants and oversized sweaters.
During the first week of April, the Wallingford-Swarthmore area also endured on-and-off sheets of rain—one being a storm that knocked over trees, cut power to homes, and cancelled school on April 4. I would not consider this a very enjoyable time, during spring if I may add, to spend out in nature, admiring the regrowing leaves.
From the other perspective, though, spring does provide some days of enjoyment outside in the warm sun, and there are people who do not suffer from allergies at all.
“I like spring because I like spending time outside, and I like that it’s usually really warm. I like to ride my bike, so I think that’s always fun to go around and do that,” senior Abbey Schofield said. “I feel like spring is always a turn in the right direction towards summer.”
While this is a strong counterargument, can one really enjoy the outdoors when bugs are re-emerging and the atmosphere is dewy and heavy after a rainstorm? I would rather wait until the 80-90 degree summer weather to enjoy my time outdoors without the threat of allergies and random forecast fluctuations.
While I’m glad the gray days of winter are almost over, enduring puffy eyes and runny noses under a rainy sky is not, and will never be, a nicer option.
