Walking down the sidewalk you can feel summer reluctantly departing, and the brisk autumn demanding to arrive. The sun is still sincere enough to warm us down to our bones, yet the creeping autumn breeze reminds us that the season of beach days, and flip flops has reached its end. Although the stress-free days of summer were as sweet as lemonade in our hands, It’s time to trade it all in for warm pumpkin spice lattes, and knee-high boots. It’s time for carmel-coated apples, pecan pie, hot chocolate accompanied by the perfect ratio of marshmallows, haunted houses, fuzzy socks, and bonfires.
Autumn is the best time of the year. If you don’t agree, I respectfully must say… you are wrong. The transformation of bright green leaves, deepening to reds, oranges, and yellows, remind us of not only the beauty in the world, but the transformation within ourselves, as well. Fall has a funny way reminding you of the previous falls. The victorious high school football games. How despite the fact that the changing leaves are the same shade of yellow that they were when your team scored the winning touchdown at home and how the excited screams filled the bleachers, you are no longer in high school. Even though the warm pumpkin latte you held while walking to second period is the same, your major has changed twice already. And although the eyes you were passionately consumed by still resemble the same rich browns of the season, you are no longer infatuated by their color.
Sugar coated apple cider donuts remind us of going to the orchard with dad. Crisp apples remind us of apple picking with Mom, and digging into warm apple pie accompanied with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. And even though we now sip on our hot chocolate while doing three hours of law homework in our dorms instead of sitting at our kitchen table with our family watching Halloweentown- It still tastes just as sweet and the memories even sweeter.
Not only does fall allow us to reminisce on the past year, and follow old traditions. It’s a time for making new memories, and building new traditions. Each year fall rolls around with its familiar beauty, and recognizable feelings. It reminds us that we’re transforming, but that no matter how hard of a year it’s been and how much we’ve been though, life goes on. We continue to grow, and we’re allowed to cling to memories while creating new ones in the same familiar breathtaking scenery.
