It's October and it's Florida, why am I writing an article about fall? I'll tell you why. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. It doesn't beat winter, but it sure comes pretty close to it. Now, fall in Florida is a concept, I feel like. You want to buy all the pumpkin spice lattes in the world, go pumpkin picking in a pumpkin patch and wear all the cute sweaters and scarves in the world, but it's 80 degrees. It's that weird stage where you can wear sweaters in the morning, but you're sweating by the afternoon, and you don't even care because it's fall and you're going to wear your sweater regardless.
I grew up in Kentucky, where we actually had seasons and I actually got to see the leaves change and fall gently to the ground each time the wind blew. It was always a cool 50 degrees and everything was alright. I tend to miss my home state around this time of year because I realize how good I had it. I don't remember being obsessed with sweaters, or fall for that matter, when I was younger, so now that I'm a fall enthusiast, I find myself wishing I could go back and experience authentic fall. I'm always telling people how great it was, but how much do I actually remember? I remember being nice and cozy in my house and in awe at the leaves changing in my backyard. What do I see now? Palm trees and dried palm fronds.
Here's the thing: I'm not dissing fall in Florida. I spent the second half of my time growing up in Florida, so I adapted eventually. Sure, it takes until February for it to cool down, but I still act like it's a normal fall day anyway. Of course, I'm sweating by the end of the day because I decided to wear jeans, boots and a sweater, but I have a smile on my face because I'm advocating for one of my favorite seasons. The warm pumpkin spice latte may be switched for an iced PSL, but it's still pumpkin. Also, there are more cute pumpkin patches around town than one might think, so it's not like us Floridians aren't getting the fall experience. Yeah, we miss out on a couple of things, but for the most part, we make our own fall.
And I surprisingly wouldn't want to have it any other way.
