During my master time at Harvard, I co-founded an association called HILA, the Harvard Italian Law Students Association. One day, I’ll share the full story (it truly deserves its own post).
Our first president was Nicholas, an Italo-American JD student. He wasn’t just intelligent. He was tireless. Even by Harvard Law School standards. He spent dozens of hours each week at the Harvard Law Review, all while keeping up with case readings, exams, pro bono work, and of course, our association.
One April, everything seemed to be piling up at once. Deadlines, meetings, exams, more deadlines. I asked him how he managed to handle it all.
He looked at me, smiled, and said:
“When it rains, it pours.”
At the time, I thought I understood what he meant. Now I know I didn’t.
Because that phrase is not just about things happening all at once, even if that’s often the case. It’s about those periods in life when you’re asked to stretch beyond your limits. When there’s no time to plan or prepare. Only the need to move forward through the downpour.
I can recall at least three moments in my life when everything seemed to fall apart at once. Personal challenges, professional crises, health concerns, unexpected losses, broken relationships. Moments when it feels like the universe is working against you. When everything is too much and yet you still have to show up.
Now, thankfully, is not one of those moments for me. Yes, life is full (maybe too full…), my projects are demanding, and my days are intense. But the heaviness feels different when it’s not laced with despair.
Still, I’ve seen many friends and colleagues navigating their own storms recently. I see it clear, because I’ve been through it. Several times.
And when I do, I find myself telling them what Nicholas once said to me, and what I’ve told myself many times since: “When it rains, it pours”.
Not to exaggerate. Not to self-pity. But to recognise what it is. To call it by its name.
And, most of all, to remember one essential truth that gets lost when you’re drenched and exhausted:
The rain eventually stops.
