Personification is one of those literary devices we learn about early on, like similes and alliteration. It’s just a word we use to describe other words, and most people won’t use it after they escape the hellhole that was GCSE English Literature.
But as I looked out from the train this evening, over the last sunset of the year, I couldn’t help noticing the beauty in the mix of colours. It was a fleeting moment: the cloud would dissipate, the sun would set and it would soon be over, just like this year. Every experience this year has provoked a broad array of feelings in me, and no single experience has been permanent.
It’s almost undeniable that we project our feelings onto our surroundings. The weather is not responding to human happenings, nor is it creating a particular ambiance for us. We hate the rain when we’re feeling low, because it brings us down further. But we love the sound of a storm howling outside if we’re wrapped up, safe and dry, indoors by the fire. I find that walking through the rain when I’m feeling strong and content in myself makes my heart race, I feel healthy and more alive than ever.
We don’t have to read anything into the weather, we can choose not to – I suspect many victims of the storms this Christmas would far sooner forget them than remember the damage and disruption to their family homes.
But sometimes it’s interesting to take note of your surroundings – it often helps me to identify how I feel in a particular moment.
Today’s sunset will help me remember the past year for something beautiful, despite all the trying moments of difficulty and pain.
How will you remember your year?
Zhēn de Gender 