Summer is coming to a close and another round of Welcome Week has sabotaged campus which means that Autumn is almost here. I love every season. I love them all because every single one has adventures and activities that come along with it. One of my favorite things to do to prepare for the change is to brainstorm all the things I want to do that season. So get excited because not only am I bestowing a list of activities for you to do but also what I love about them so you will want to do them even more.

1. Jump in a pile of leaves. Could this even be a list of fun things to do in Autumn if I didn't include the thrilling sensation of flopping into crunchy leaves? Make fun of me all you want but I will never be too old to have fun. I love when I walk outside to find the ground covered in colors and grab the rake and drag the leaves together. And it is NEVER big enough but at some point I just know my masterpiece is good enough and have a great feeling of accomplishment. Running and jumping is the biggest energy release. The beautiful sound of crispy, crackling perfection when I land. Smelling the leaves while rolling around, the gorgeous way they fall through the air when someone tosses them, how they get tangled in my hair, proof of an awesome day. Yes. Jumping in piles of leaves will forever be on my list.

2.  Carving a pumpkin. Ooey, gooey nostalgia. Get your creative side going by delving into this fantastic activity. You have not lived if you have not carved a pumpkin. Drawing the design faces a fine line between coolest jack-o-lantern ever and totally impossible. Or just stick with the classic, two eyes and a smile. I love reaching my hand in to scrape out stringy, orange muck, it's a sensational feeling. Popping out the design after careful cutting only to rush out to the porch and light it up the first time to see the soft glow fills my heart with so much pride. "That's my jack-o-lantern" I think," I did that." Plus, toasted pumpkin seeds are the best.

3. Apple picking. Climbing trees is one of my favorite forms of physical activity. Apples in the Autumn are the juciest. Combine the two and its bound to be good. Apple orchards make me think of fresh air, laughing children, warm apple cider and many other good things. I haven't been in a few years and every year I say I will, well this year I will not make any excuses. Apple orchard's are calling to me and I'm ready to answer the call. I'm excited just thinking about it.

4. Costumes for Halloween. I generally pick out what my costume(s) is going to be months advance. I played dress-ups as a child for probably a lot longer than normal which may be why I'm so fond of the holiday. You get to wear the most absurd things that make you feel weirdly confident. And I love to see all the different costumes that people wear, of course always looking for the best ones.

5. Pumpkin patch farm. Hay rides, corn mazes, tons of pumpkins. Everything about the pumpkin patch is great. Getting to pick out the perfect pumpkin is the most exciting feeling. Hay rides just make me happy, the feeling of the autumn breeze just cold enough to give me goose-bumps as I ride along. I've gotten lost in a corn-maze for hours. And I was totally okay with that because where else would I want to be besides lost in a corn maze? Nowhere! Pumpkin patch farms just take so many good parts of Autumn and put them all in one place, you could say I'm a fan.

6. Make a scarecrow. Honestly, why not? Scarecrows are so fun to look at. What if everyone made their own scarecrow? That would be the coolest thing ever. Getting to play with the pokey hay and shove it into all sorts of clothes and watch as some sort of person comes together. And you get to make the scarecrow look however you want. I think I'm gonna make a scare-girl and write something feminist on it to scare off all the cat-callers.

7. Haunted house. For some reason, I feel the need to torture myself year after year to prove that I have done autumn properly. Every year I pay money to go to a haunted house and hold onto someone for dear life and keep my eyes covered. But I just love how antsy I get. It's like you know exactly what's coming but you're still totally excited and terrified at the same time. The people jump out and I scream even though I knew they were there the whole time. Gosh, I hate it and love it all at the same time.

8. Sit on a bench and read a book. Autumn air feels crisp and chilly. Scarves are often necessary and that's a very good thing. It's not too hot and not too cold, it's the perfect weather to just sit somewhere and enjoy it. And the weather makes you feel like cozying up and reading a book. My city has benches by the river and nothing seems more lovely than escaping to one of those and reading for a couple hours on a cool, Autumn afternoon. And afterwards, I always feel cleansed spiritually, ready to take on life again.

9. Go to parks and walk in the woods. There's so many great quotes about the leaves changing colors. Pick one and insert it here. The changing colors remind me that nature isn't in our control, that the world will go on despite whatever problems I'm having in my life. It's comforting to see that there are some things that, no matter how old I get and wherever I go, the same trees that have been around for much longer than me continue to change year after year. I love to hear the wind rustle the leaves and when I'm lucky enough to watch one fall gracefully from a tree I let myself become totally absorbed in the leaf and nothing else matters for those few moments.

10. Camping. It's best in early fall. The weather is perfect for hiking and exploring because the weather is practically made for it. At night, I love to snuggle up tight in my sleeping bag when it gets a little colder and listen to the wind blowing in the trees. In the morning when I wake up I love that the tent and the ground are always covered in dew and breathing in the fresh air and knowing it's another day of perfect Autumn weather and adventures ahead.

11. Bonfires. Wood burning smells like memories. Every one looks prettier in the bonfire's light. It dances across skin and leaves the rest a mystery. Bonfires are intimate. They should be called bond-fires (not funny, but I try). People share secrets and say things that they wouldn't normally say. I love the mixture of the noise of people laughing and a fire crackling. I love the sparks that fly over the fire and linger for a little while in the air. I love roasting (vegan) marshmallows over the fire and the way they force everyone to get a little messy. And I especially love how bonfires never really end, people just start to fade away.

12. Rocky Horror Picture Show. My city still has a rocky picture show at one of the movie theaters here every other week. I have only ever been in the Autumn. It's totally acceptable to dress-up and scream at the screen. People do the performance in front of the screen and they even pull you along to dance for a couple numbers. The Rock Horror Picture Show is a place where all the weirdos can let their weirdness out. No one judges you and it's a great place to have fun while still doing basically nothing.

13. Fairs. In all honesty, I've been to maybe one real fair. There are some in the city but they are nothing compared to what they have in the country, so that's where I'll be heading. Maybe I've just romanticized the whole thing but I'm convinced that they're wild and reckless and dirty and great for a couple nights. I'm excited for rides and corn-on-the-cob and tractor races and whatever other great things come with a fair.

14. Thrift shop for sweaters. Nothing relieves stress quite like spending a ridiculous amount of money for a thrift shopping spree. Sweaters are the rulers of Autumn and I love going into the thrift-shop on a mission to find the absolute, ugliest one I can find. Searching through the racks is like an Easter egg hunt and when I finally find the perfect sweaters I just know I'm going to be the coolest kid on campus. I throw all my sweaters on the counter and the sales lady rings them up about two dollars a piece and I feel no regrets about dropping that cash because I know as soon as I slide that bad boy on I couldn't possibly be comfier.

15. Make a dish for thanksgiving. Every Thanksgiving my extended family bunches into a room and all 30 or so of us list off something that we're grateful for while longingly staring at the unheard of amount of food that we have. All of us sit around tables and share stories and reminisce. This year there won't be anything I can eat so I think it'll be the perfect opportunity for me to play a role in the kitchen work. Usually, I may help my grandma make a few things but never enough to where I feel like I've really put my full love into it. This year, I'm ready to step it up and know the longing stares are also for something I made, until everyone finds out it's actually disgusting anyway.

I plan on making my last bit of warmth count and not rushing through it but it's good to properly plan ahead because I clearly have many things to accomplish in a limited amount of time. There's special things about every season and I love getting excited about each one. Life is exciting and it's good to remember why we love to do certain things. I'm ready to make some memories this Autumn.