Fall-ing in Love

Autumn: the time of year where my Twitter feed is composed entire of my excitement about the upcoming season.

Not to perpetuate every single teenage girl stereotype, but the aesthetic for fall is so me. The array of candle scents displayed at Bath and Bodyworks, ranging from classic ‘Pumpkin Apple’ to ‘Berry Pumpkin Strudel’, always force me to make a difficult choice. Promotions for Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte start hitting social media making me itch with excitement and craving. On second thought, any food that labeled with pumpkin spice will be making it’s way into my pantry.

And, of course, clothes. My wardrobe revolves around fall. Out with the skimpy tank tops and shorty-shorts and in with the cozy sweaters, jeans and assortment of leggings. Fuzzy socks are finally acceptable again, and the options for footwear are all of a sudden a free for all. Boots, sandals, tennis shoes – anything is acceptable now.

Shades of orange, red, yellow and brown leaves swivel to the ground and swirl around in the streets creating a seemingly magical effect. Girls all over Johnson County eagerly whip out their phones to capture the moment for their VSCO. The piles of leaves in yards brings me back to my childhood falls, weekends spent raking gigantic heaps of leaves and jumping in, destroying the pile only to do it over and over again.

Now, I binge watch Netflix as much as the next person, but I don’t usually love the subsequent feeling I’m left with after fitting three seasons of One Tree Hill into a few hours. On the other hand, in the fall, as long as I’m cozied up with some fuzzy socks and a mug of warm apple cider, I don’t mind the feeling of vegging out.

However, there’s not much time to lounge around, with all the activities available now that it’s autumn. Why would I watch Netflix on a Saturday night, when I could be sweating with fear and exhilaration in the haunted houses downtown? Or better yet spend my day eating warm, cinnamon-coated donuts at Dunn’s or Louisburg Cider Mill.

I think one of the reasons I love fall so much is because I’m forced to. Around September 15th is when my mom starts bringing boxes on boxes up from the storage room, bulging with Halloween decorations. By the 20th, the house is decked out in what some people would think is terrifying decor. We have everything from a plethora of spiderwebs to tall jars on the mantle filled with mysterious fluids and limbs of dolls. Halloween is by far our favorite and most anticipated holiday.

Of course with Halloween comes scary movies. Although my friends are more than willing to have real live terror face them at the Beast, most of them end up chickening out when it comes to seeing scary movies in theatres. I, on the other hand, love the adrenaline rush that comes along with movies like the Conjuring or Ouji. Though I may be able to get them to sit down and watch Disney’s Halloween Town or even Hocus Pocus I still get lonely when I want somebody to watch real scary movies with. The only person who truly appreciates horror movies as much as I do, is my mother. Again, I swear she intentionally bred me to be this way.

It’s the commencement of football season which means Friday night tailgates and games under the lights. When I’m not cheering on the track, I get to spend my evening in the stands with 400 of my closest friends decked out in spirit wear. We bond by cheering on our favorite team and discussing how chilly the autumn breeze is during time-outs.

Fall is a symbol of the start of holiday season which means I will be seeing much more of my extended family. The gatherings start about halfway through October, and we meet up at least once a weekend through December. Multiple parties are hosted for the various holidays, Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving and just for the hell of it!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, there’s a whole reason in itself to love fall. What’s better than meeting up with family members and devouring a ridiculous, but tasteful, amount of food in such a small amount of time. My mouth is watering just thinking about the juicy turkey, cranberry sauce and variety of pies.

So yes, fall is my favorite season. And as basic as that might be, I’m #thankful for it.