It’s that time of year again. The leaves are starting to change color, college is back in session, the comfy sweaters are breaking out, and the air is becoming cool and crisp. Fall is by far my all time favorite season for a number of reasons.
First, pumpkin everything! Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin picking, I could go on and on. I absolutely love sipping on a pumpkin spiced latte while sitting in an early morning class, or picking my own pumpkin to bring home and carve into a Jack-O-Lantern for my front porch. The best part is that because pumpkins are only around in the fall, it makes it special. I would love to have pumpkin all year round, but then it wouldn’t be as fun to go pumpkin picking or pumpkin coffee wouldn’t be as delicious. Having it limited to a specific time makes pumpkin that much better.
Second: the colors. Watching the leaves turn from bright greens to yellows, oranges, reds, and browns is a magical feeling. These fall colors are so welcoming and warming and only come around once a year. My favorite part is once the leaves change colors and start falling from the trees. This, to me, brings back childhood memories of building leaf piles and then running through them or jumping into them. Ruining a perfect leaf pile by throwing the leaves into the air and dancing around is the true meaning of being a kid.
Third, Halloween. I love October because it means hayrides, scary movies, haunted houses, and trick-or-treating. Although, as a college student, I am a bit too old to go around from house to house to ask for candy, but I enjoy being on the other end. I love opening up the door to a witch, a skeleton, and a scarecrow yelling “trick-or-treat!” with their candy bags out and ready to be filled. Seeing all of these kids racing from home to home dressed up in their costumes brings a smile to my face.
The fourth: apple picking time! There is nothing like gathering your closest friends or your family and going to pick some apples. But the fun doesn’t stop there! Once you bring home those apples, there are so many different things to do with them. You can put them on display as a kitchen table centerpiece; bake an apple pie; make homemade applesauce; have a caramel apple martini, or if you aren’t 21 quite yet, make some apple cider! The “do it yourself” decorations or recipes you can make with apples are endless.
The fifth and last reason is football. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching baseball and hockey, but there is something special about having football on the television every Sunday. Spending all day with friends and family, making football Sunday snacks, wearing my New York Jets jersey, and screaming at the television are all reasons why I love this time of year.
The fall means a number of different things to me. It means the weather is getting to a comfortable temperature; it is not too hot or too cold. It means my favorite holiday, Halloween, is just around the corner. It means the leaves are changing colors and falling from the trees. It means that pumpkin is back. It means screaming at the Jets for yet another season. It means filling my house with the scent of cinnamon from the apple pie that is baking in the oven. And it means that I am able to start wearing sweaters and boots again. Fall is, in my opinion, the perfect time of year.
IMAGE TAKEN from bucks.happeningmag.com
