When I was 11, I was convinced that one day I would find a decently sized, sturdy yet weathered, letter in my mailbox from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After years of clinging onto that hope, I finally conceded, when the last Harry Potter book was published in 2007, that no such letter would ever arrive.

However, a new fantastical and completely irrational illusion has since taken its place. Now, my daily routine consists not of checking the mailbox, but of dialing Weather Hotline (314-321-2222, speed dial number five) and listening to the weather predictions.

Why such an odd habit? Because I watched Men in Black and was seduced by the idea that the sky rains because the Princess’s daughter is sad. Based on that one science fiction concept, I am now convinced that moods control the weather. By logical conclusion, I also believe that weather forecasts can generally predict the moods of the day. Hence, the ritual dialing of speed dial five.

Accept my theory or not, it is hard to deny a connection between the weather and people’s moods. When it’s rainy, the air is heavy and the sky is gray, people generally appear unenthusiastic and are more likely to be sleepy. When the sun is bright, the air is crisp and the sky is baby-blue, people have a better temperament and higher energy level.

Although scientists have yet to provide conclusive evidence for, or against, the existence the subconscious-mind-controls-nature theory, it has been proven that sunlight has a direct impact on people’s happiness.

According to the website for the American Psychiatric Association, some people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is most likely caused by the changing levels of sunlight from summer and spring seasons to the fall and winter seasons. This change in sunlight triggers a biochemical imbalance in the brain, throwing off our natural circadian rhythm, and causing us to feel less happy.

In addition to throwing off our sense of rhythm, increased darkness during the winter months causes increased production of melatonin, a sleep-related hormone that may cause depression. When the days become shorter and darkness arrives earlier, the lack of sunlight can biologically change people’s moods.

Scientific research aside, it may be the connotations of different weather that provoke different mood responses. Sunlight is often associated with happiness and young children frolicking in the meadows, while grey skies are the symbol of unrest and dreariness. Because we have established such connotations, we may unconsciously conform to these stereotypes and become sad or happy by the power of suggestion.

And just from personal experience, when I wake up at 7 am to a completely dark room with rain pattering my window, I feel much less inclined to drag my sleep-deprived butt out of the comfort of my bed and to school. However, when I wake up to bright sunlight streaming in from the blinds, I am more energized and willing to get up. So when the day is gloomy, and you feel gloomy, I believe that it is not merely coincidence.

When the skies open up and rain pours down, I am often sitting by my window, drinking steaming hot tea with a book perched on my knee, glancing out, wondering who is so incredibly sad.

When I am so incredibly sad, and the weather is likewise overcast, I find a certain amount of comfort that nature reflects my mood so perfectly, almost justifying and sharing my emotions.

When teachers take one look at a bunch of slumped and sleepy teenagers, asking why such a drained mood, the answer at the tip of my tongue is always, very simply, “the weather.”

I am convinced that Men in Black holds some truth (excluding extraterrestrial parts). Silly as it seems, I cannot be torn away from the theory that there is truly a connection between the mind and nature. As Agent Kay would say, “It rains because you’re sad, baby.”