Ah, winter - where I can always count on the good 'ole Midwestern cold to give me frostbite the minute I walk outside. Ha! No thanks. Then there's the spring, where all the flowers blossom and the world becomes colorful again. But that isn't without the endless amounts of rain and brief periods where the world believes it's still winter. And now that it's October, I can finally say, "Goodbye, summer - it was nice knowing ya!" While I can't deny that there is something really fun and exciting about having a few months devoted entirely to no schoolwork, something about Fall feels so much more enjoyable. Don't believe me? Here are ten reasons why fall is the best season.
1. Big comfy clothes
What is better than being able to dump all those tank tops and t-shirts into the back of your closet and be able to bring back your comfiest oversized hoodie or (my personal favorite) sweater? Nothing. The comfort levels of fall clothing are off the charts because not only is fall clothing usually oversized, it is soft and able to keep you warm in the nice autumn breeze.
2. Pumpkin Patches
Some of the fall traditions you participated in during your childhood just never get old. There is something oddly nostalgic about going with a group of friends to a pumpkin patch, picking out the best pumpkin you can find, and then going home to carve it just in time for Halloween (or just for fun). Plus, with the carving you get all those pumpkin seeds that you can roast for a nice fall snack!
3. Apple Picking
Along the same lines comes apple picking. If you can find a good orchard, the options are endless - Granny Smith, Macintosh, Red Delicious... you name the apple, you get the apple. This is a fall tradition that I never get sick of because it can lead to so many more like the apple extravaganza my family puts on every year where we bake endless apple-y goodies. Also, it's always nice seeing those bags full of apples around and knowing they taste just as good as they look.
4. All of the colors
Sure, during the spring and summer everything is green and you'll catch a glimpse of a nice flower that hasn't wilted in the summer heat yet, but have you really taken a look at the world during the fall? The colors are spectacular! I don't have enough room on my phone to take all the pictures of the trees that I want to during this time of year. With all the hues of red, orange, yellow - you name it! - the world looks so bright and happy. That is, before winter shows up and turns everything into a dead, brown mess...
5. Pumpkin Spice EVERYTHING
It's not just the latte I'm talking about here (although I can't deny the baristas at Starbucks see me walk in and show me the cup with "PSL" and my name already written on it when I get to the register to pay). Pumpkin spice has without a doubt become the flavor of the season, and no one should be mad. When I start seeing the orange containers for everything in the grocery store, I know that fall as come and I can expect the delicious flavor for at least three months before peppermint takes over.
6. Football is back
Football season is back in action, for real. You can't count that preseason stuff over the summer because it doesn't go toward your team's final record. Nope. We are talking about the sit-back on a Sunday/Monday Night/Thursday Night kind of football and cheer for your team as they either crush it on the field (Go Pack Go) or fall to defeat once again (*cough* Da Bears *cough, cough*). But not only do you get the excuse to sit down and relax for a few hours during the game, you also get the excuse to travel to see your favorite team. Then there's tailgates, rallies, family get-togethers... football season is just an all-around great time of the year, and it only comes with the fall.
7. Halloween movies are back on TV
You can't tell me your inner child does not get excited when it sees these three witches on the TV again. With fall, comes some of the best movies known to man - Halloween movies. They can be the scream-every-five-minutes scary kind of movie or the Will-Charlie-Brown-Actually-Find-The-Great-Pumpkin? kind, but no matter what there is some kind of chill that goes through your body - either from fear or excitement - when you find one.
8. The weather is nice and cool
Good-bye ninety degrees, and hello sweater and bonfire weather!
9. It's perfect book-reading weather
Put on that big sweater or hoodie, make that pumpkin spice latte or apple-cinnamon tea (or any tea really) and grab your favorite book because this is the last month that you will be able to read outside for awhile. Pretty soon you'll either freeze or get drenched from the rain, which will ruin your book.
10. Halloween
Once the crisp air of fall hits, it is 100 percent okay to start freaking out about Halloween being near. Nothing is more exciting than getting the chance to dress up and be someone else for the night all while going to parties that incorporate the best of fall into them - bobbing for those apples you picked, displaying the pumpkins you carved, and showing those creepy or kid movie classics you love.
