Fall is perhaps the most beautiful season. It is a time of transition - a transition to a new season that is cold and white and beautiful.
The leaves change color.
They begin to fall off the trees.
It can be imagined as a painful process for the trees, losing integral parts of what they are. This loss is a productive one, however, as it allows them to survive a harsh period of cold. This time is all about development and endurance - leading up to the spring where the new arises. The spring is where the hard work to survive winter comes to blossom. It is important to prune what is not necessary to survive in order to bloom more beautifully than before.
The leaves begin to decompose.
They prepare to provide the nutrients for growth.
College is not too different from this. When one embarks on the journey of college, he or she leaves behind many parts of who and what they are. These "leaves" may be a past significant other, a sport, a hobby, a hometown. College is hard. There is a state of durability that must be assumed by those who wish to get through it successfully. The pruning process when leaving for school is quick like autumn is. It might not be as graceful and beautiful as that of the seasons, but good will come of it.
The leaves change color.
They are strewn on the cold ground.
After this quick autumn, winter hits. It is tough - but you have gone through a transition and are prepared. Wallace Stevens calls us to adopt a “mind of winter” in his poem “The Snowman.” It is necessary to embrace this mind, and be tough to survive. Just as trees lose their fragile leaves and store up extra glycogen to survive the harsh winter—we must do the same. Good coats. Tough minds.
The leaves decompose.
They become the food for the tree.
Graduation is in the spring for a reason. It is the blossoming of new young adults. There are none more prepared and with more faculties to embrace this summer of adulthood than those who have endured the harsh winter of college and have grown from it. Much is learned and much is gained. It is time to use it.
The leaves have fallen.
The leaves have decomposed.
College is not easy. As college students we are called to embrace change, it is good for you. Change of the mind, change of environment, change of friends, change of everything is the essence of college. That is OK. You just need to accept it for what it is. College is a time of transition for many students and there is no better thing to look at for inspiration on how to change gracefully than the very seasons of our earth. Just as Mother Nature is graceful in its transition - tough months included - we must do the same. By adopting this “mind of winter” as Steven’s calls us to, and in preparing and reaching out, this can easily be done.
The leaves are anew again.
The leaves change color.
The leaves begin to fall off the trees.
The cycle goes on.
