The Lyrical Genius of "Unwritten"

erin u-biking us to get ice cream and me screaming

I feel like the song "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield has been so overplayed and so memeified that we've forgotten its lyrical genius. 

Take a listen to the song before reading this, actually. It's important. Here’s the link for your ease.

If you can’t listen and you’re in a time crunch it’s fine, I guess. The important detail of the song is the chorus where she’s like:

Feel the rain on your skin

No one else can feel it for you

Only you can let it in

Stay with me, I’ll relate this to Tainan I promise.

I hate getting rained on in Seattle. I feel like a soggy dog. My clothes stick to my skin and give off that musty, wet fibery scent. I hate when I accidentally step in a puddle and my socks get wet. The rain is a clingy boyfriend that follows me around and doesn’t get the hint that I want nothing to do with him. 

On day one of Tainan, it was rainy. The NCKU students gave us a campus tour, walking us through their industrial design building and even bringing us to their library. For a good chunk of the tour, it was rainy and windy, and I was holding on to my umbrella for Alexa and I for dear life. Going back to the hotel later that afternoon was a nice respite from the weather. It was still raining later that day (albeit significantly lighter) on my way to the outdoor volleyball courts with Erin, Jamie, and Bethany to play with a group of UW and NCKU students.

I loved playing volleyball since I was in 3rd grade, but I haven’t played much at all this year. So, playing with a group scratched an itch I didn’t even know was there. I think that’s why I barely minded the light sprinkle during our game. But, then it started pouring. The ground became shiny and slippery. My hair, tank top, skirt, and shoes were soaked and sticking to my skin. The slight dips in the court floor made wide pools of water throughout the floor, and my leather flats were half-sunken boats. I even got rain in my eyes, my contacts beginning to swell up with the moisture. I thought someone would eventually catch the ball and ask if we wanted to continue on another day. No one said anything, so we kept on playing. 

the court

Eventually, the rain came on a little too strong to the point where wrapping up the game and getting food felt like a really attractive option. Soggy, dehydrated, and hungry, I found myself not really caring about the squish of my shoes with every step on our way leaving the courts.  I remember Erin said something along the lines of “It’s like the song about the rain!” and I laughed, remembering that silly song from the 2000s about feeling the rain on your skin and being okay with it. Honestly, I don’t entirely understand the meaning of the song (I’m looking at the lyrics while I write this but I still can’t really grasp it), but from what I observed, the song is about how you should feel optimistic about what's in store for you even though you might feel doubtful. To be satisfied even though you don’t have it all figured out. To accept uncertainty with open arms.

On the surface, I don’t like rain because I don’t like the way it makes my clothes feel on my skin. I don’t like how it makes the fabric smell. And I don’t like the way it inconveniences everything I do.

If I look a little deeper, I don’t like the rain because it’s something I can’t control or always be prepared for. I’ve been a perfectionist all my life, and when I don’t feel prepared to handle something, I’m almost always stressed out.

But, this year has been surprisingly transformative for me, and this trip, the people in it, and what I’m experiencing is reminding me that I’ve grown a lot. I feel more myself than I ever have before. And playing volleyball in the rain was a nice reminder of how I’m better at handling things that used to be uncomfortable.

All this to say that I’m sorry Nastasha Bedingfield for it taking me a decade to appreciate your lyrical genius.

karaoke with UW and NCKU students

loved the banana latte cocktail

dim sum! (heathers rec)

post passion fruit shave ice

Anyways, I guess I like the rain and “Unwritten” a little more now? Seattle rain here I come.