If I had to describe Fall in one word word it would be "revitalizing."
The bright colors, the crunchy leaves, the bite of crisp air that makes me pull my jacket around me tighter, all make me feel refreshed. In the Fall I notice the minute details around me that I never would recognize in another season.
Fall allows me to appreciate warmth. I appreciate the heat radiating onto my hands from a cup of tea, steam rolling off the top and onto my face as I take a sip. I appreciate the heat in my dorm that feels like a hot wave in the summer when I step in the door. I appreciate the hug from a friend when I tell them that I am cold.
In the Fall I notice texture. The feeling of thick, soft fabric on my arms, the smooth cardboard on a disposable coffee cup, the rough wood grain of the picnic table outside my building--I become hyper-aware of all of these as the temperature starts to drop. My senses are heightened and everything looks and feels sharp.
This part of the year is my favorite time to enjoy nature. I take any moment that I can spend outside in the Fall. Even opening the window feels wonderful. I savor the movement of the trees and the wind and how quiet it can be when everyone is snuggled inside.
Fall is the season of fragility. Nature starts to die, quiet down, in preparation for the Spring. Everything starts to go to sleep as the days start to get shorter. I find myself getting tired when the sun goes down around 5 pm. I feel like a very small piece of the universe is changing around me as I walk to class every day.
As everything dies in the Fall I feel myself "dying" too. I shrug off my old self, the one who made mistakes in the past year, the one who did not take care of herself, the one who was not happy. In the Fall I vow to renew who I am and strive to become a better version of myself.
Most people use the holidays as a time to reflect on the year and what they want to change as the new year begins. I use Fall as this time. It seems surprising for an avid procrastinator to do such a thing, but I try to make my New Year's Resolutions early so I can start to incorporate them into my life early. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have said that I was going to start doing something at the beginning of a new year and then never got to it. If you start on your New Year's Resolutions early then you won't have as hard of a time transitioning into the new, and improved, you.
Fall is my time to refresh my life and enjoy the world around me. I hope that now you love it as much as I do.
