You’re looking outside to see what the weather is like. “Oh, it’s just cloudy,” you say. You put on that nice sweater and a peacoat. When you walk outside, something feels off. You feel a few water droplets on your head while you’re walking under some trees. You say, “That’s just the water from the rain the night before.” You keep feeling them on the top of your head even more. That’s when you realize that it’s drizzling outside. By that time, you’re already too close to your destination to consider going back home to change.

Yep, this was my morning one day. I was already running late for my bus and didn’t have time to change jackets. I guess the weather report on my phone wasn’t correct when it came to a slight drizzle.

Then there are times when you were completely underprepared. The first time I experienced this was in first grade. I had no real concept of what clothes were appropriate for the rain or not. I came to school in a hoodie, thinking it was enough for the day. It wasn’t raining yet so I thought it was okay. When the rain came, I didn’t expect my hoodie to become wet. I went outside for lunch in my hoodie and the hoodie took most of the precipitation. Thankfully my hair was still dry and I didn’t have to go outside except when I had to get to my carpool. From that day forward, I started wearing appropriate jackets when it was raining.

Back in third grade, we had our annual sports day. Everyone was wearing t-shirts and shorts because of the activities we were doing. We all thought it was okay because it wasn’t raining. We should’ve known that it was going to rain because of the clouds. I didn’t have a jacket or umbrella. Thankfully my sister was picking me up that day and she had an umbrella. Still, I wish I had a jacket to keep me relatively warm. My teacher did say to me before leaving, “The rain isn’t going to hurt you, but you will get wet.” At least she told me the truth rather than being one of those teachers that tell you,” You should’ve been prepared. I came soaking wet and took a steaming hot shower just to combat the chills.

(Becky Stern / Flickr)

No one would be completely unprepared until a few years later when I was in seventh grade. It was a bright and beautiful morning. The sun was out radiating on people’s skin. It was early June which was the perfect time to have the sun out. Just before recess, however, it started to become a bit gloomy. Then the worst happened. It started to rain but no one at school brought a jacket or umbrella. Normally, the school would tell us to suck it up and go outside. However, I guess not a lot of the staff was able to anticipate so they decided to call it an inside day. Lunch monitors had to go to the classrooms they normally lunch monitor at so teachers can still have a break (I did not get the memo. I only learned I was supposed to go after the fact but thankfully the other monitor was there). Every teacher was understanding of this, except one who said, “These kids should’ve known that it was going to rain. We live in a rainforest for crying out loud.” Except for the fact that there was no real way we would’ve known. None of the weather reports said it was going to rain and the sun was shining early in the morning. Nothing about that screamed that it was going to rain that day. Some of the kids in younger grades have their parents dress them up for school and kids usually just listen to their parents because they can’t be horribly wrong, can they (obviously they can be, just look at what happened). Putting the fault on the kids isn’t right in this situation if they were just bamboozled.

Another time when I went to school underdressed was one when I should’ve known better. It was the first day of fall in second grade. I wasn’t great at tracking the dates back then so I thought the sunny day meant it was still summertime. I went to school in shorts and a t-shirt that day. While I was waiting in line to get into my classroom, I noticed people started dressing up a little bit warmer than usual. That’s when it dawned upon me that fall was starting. I might as well have been naked considering underdressed I was. I guess I was ahead of my time because of how warm fall can be these days.

(Russ Sanderlin / Flickr)

When my family first moved to Canada, we didn’t know about this phenomenon. The thought of it being cold with the sun shining wasn’t a concept we knew yet. My mom saw that it was sunny outside and decided to bring me along for a walk. She went outside in shorts and a t-shirt along with a hat. I assume I was wearing the same thing too. She was walking outside with me in a stroller and didn’t think too much about the weather. She started to notice how cold it was despite the fact that it was sunny. She decided to go home immediately, ending our walk abruptly.

(Ruth Hartnup / Flickr)

If weather reports were correct all the time, we would not be running into these issues. People would be able to dress for the weather consistently and people would feel comfortable in the rain. Because of these inconsistencies, I’m forced to bring an umbrella to school just in case it decided to rain that day. I would rather be too prepared and have no need to use the umbrella than be unprepared and get my clothes wet.

Rain is something that’s inevitable, especially if you live in the Metro Vancouver area. You can either be one of those weirdos who don’t fear the rain, or you can be someone who dresses appropriately.