Why Autumn Is Definitively The Best Season
And no it’s not just because of Halloween
This past summer was great, other than, you know, this deadly virus going around; it’s been an awesome time! As long as you’re being safe, you can explore new areas by the ocean, mooch off your friends who have a boat, take walks outside when it’s over 70 degrees, and all the nice sunny weather just brings up everyone’s mood!
However, I believe there’s a best season contender that is tremendously under-appreciated; its name is Autumn (or Fall, for us Americans because “leaves fall down”).
Okay, I hear your screams in your head; I’m aware people absolutely love Autumn. However, when you ask these people why it’s their favorite season, the first thing out of their mouth is, “Halloween!”, which yes is one of my reasons as well, but I believe they’re missing some of the smaller features of Autumn on exactly why the atmosphere is just so great!
Hoodie Weather
Yes I know I just praised Summer for its amazing warm nights, but hear me out. Hoodie weather isn’t great just for those with body image issues. It’s also a factor of not knowing what the hell to wear!
If you’re somewhat like me, which I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re not, in Summer you struggle to find new outfits to wear every day, because you’re picky when shopping for clothes and you only wear your 2 or 3 favorite outfits, then switch off which days you wear them. I’m not going to say the embarrassingly low number of short sleeve t-shirts I own, but I’m going to straight-up admit that it gets stressful sometimes! I can switch off which snapback I’m going to wear, bracelet or watch, or maybe even a couple different pairs of shorts, but other than that, as a guy, the options get kind of boring when it comes to fashion.
In Fall hoodie weather, I can slap on a different hoodie every day of the week over my shirt that I wore 2 days ago, or even wear no shirt at all under the hoodie! I can even switch off my snapback for a beanie if I’m feeling in the mood, or wear one of my favorite t-shirt hoodies, which are the most underrated pieces of clothing for guys.
It could just be in my head, but I also think the slightest bit more wind in Fall is really calming. Feeling the cool wind blow through your hair while the rest of your body is nice and warm from your hoodie, is such an amazing and relaxing feeling.
Beautiful Leaves Cover The Streets For Months
It’s like snow, but all the time, and it doesn’t get annoying.
The leaves here in New England get absolutely beautiful in Autumn, and it’s sad that it feels like one of the shortest seasons, as they get covered in snow just a few months after it begins.
You’re always seeing a new tree that one day had leaves its normal green color, and now magically changed colors from yellow to orange and red. Those leaves then end up falling to the ground, and of course, turning brown after a while, but a pretty kind of brown.
The yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves basically define what Autumn is and feels like. This is very similar to what happens in Winter. What is winter defined by? Snow! Only that snow is exciting for maybe the first week, because other than building a snowman and sledding like the 24-year-old child I am, there’s a lot of maintenance that goes into the snow.
If you own a single-family home, you have to either shovel or plow your driveway, make sure there’s no ice on the path or steps, and you even have to shovel part of the sidewalk outside your house in some towns! Even if you don’t own a home, you still have to struggle with unplowed parking lots, invisible patches of ice on the road that will make you go skidding even with the best winter tires, and that all really takes away from the beauty of snow in winter.
Leaves in Autumn aren’t like that. They’re either sitting in a tree looking all pretty, or they’re laying on the sidewalk living their best life, but still existing, like me.
You also get to feel the leaves crunch beneath your feet as you walk anywhere. This is true if you’re walking in your town’s park, on the sidewalk, or taking a nature walk in the woods by a pretty lake. Especially when there are no cars around, hearing only the crunch of leaves beneath your feet gives you this sense of peace.
Halloween and Thanksgiving Are Pretty Great
Halloween is one of those traditions that’s very strange, but we do it anyway because it brings joy to literally everyone.
Kids get to dress up as their heroes, or just to look scary, and walk around for a few hours and get some free candy from all over town! As a teen, I still trick-or-treated because, as I mentioned earlier, I’m a 24-year-old child. But this was one of my favorite times because I could pass by some kids from school I didn’t get to see often, and I got to explore all the little streets in my town I’ve never been to before!
The tradition also makes the adults at the door happy, because they get to see cute little girls dressed up as the ice queen Elsa, and see them all smiling and happy.
Halloween is also one of those times that even if you don’t go out, you can stay home, invite a few friends over, and cosplay as some of your favorite characters. You can watch hours of Buzzfeed Unsolved and Horror movies without a regret in the world, and be an adult by making some Halloween themed desserts, and decorate your apartment all spooky or Fall themed.
Even after Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is one of those holidays where you can say “I love you” to your friends without it seeming weird, even though it shouldn’t be anyways. Even if you’re more of an introvert like me, having friends and family over your house that you haven’t seen in a while, is really nice. You can talk about how you’re a Realtor now, and catch up on what they’ve been up to as well. So far in my life, I’ve still only experienced Thanksgiving as a child still. Meaning I go to my Mom’s house, see her family and friends, while I text or video call my friends how much they mean to me.
I’m so excited for the day that I get my own house with more entertainment space, and I can invite all of my friends over from different parts of my life. We’ll all be hanging out playing Super Smash Bros. on my Nintendo Switch while talking about hilarious stories from throughout our lives. My friend from one part of my life will become friends with someone I know from another part of my life, and it will be beautiful.
We need to make it a habit to do this more often. I know with my group of friends, we try to all get together once every week or two at one house, and just hang out. To me, friends are one of the most important things in life, and we need to appreciate each other as much as possible.
While I can admit Autumn isn’t perfect, it has a lot of pros that people tend to miss. The weather isn’t cold enough to be annoying, or hot enough to make you want to run inside and cool off for the rest of the day; it’s perfect. Two of the best holidays come one right after the other, and bring joy to so many people. It’s also beautiful without needing maintenance and makes for the best photography. Hope everyone has an awesome Fall; be a child and enjoy the little things.