David Eide – Opinions Columnist
It appears that fall is finally in the air. There is a chill in the wind, trees are beginning to adopt shades of yellow and red, and I’m seeing more and more pumpkins. Naturally, this has me very excited since fall is probably my favorite season, which is saying a lot. While I admire the stillness and stark vistas of winter or the beautiful flowers of spring, ultimately, I think fall beats them both out for the title of best season. My reasoning behind this is multifaceted, after all, fall has so many distinct qualities and attributes aiding its case. Bearing this in mind, I think it would be fun to go over some of the reasons why I consider fall to be the greatest of all the four seasons.
I’ll start off with what is probably the most noticeable of autumn’s attributes, the vibrant colors of the leaves you’ve no doubt seen at this point. I think fall produces the most stunning and unique vistas out of all the seasons. While spring and summer are both very pretty, ultimately, they do kind of blend together appearance-wise, what with both having green leaves and flowers and stuff. While winter can be incredibly beautiful in the right conditions, when there’s no snow it is incredibly drab and ugly. Fall, on the other hand, has a dynamism not possessed by the other three, what with the leaves going from green to yellow to red over time, which also tends to create a wonderful blend of colors. Depending on the weather conditions preceding the arrival of fall, the changing of the leaves can be less impressive, but looking out over the valley now it’s safe to say that the weather was just right to give us the best possible set of fall colors. Honestly, this is probably the best fall, aesthetics wise, that I’ve seen during my four years here on the hill.
The physical beauty of the season isn’t the only reason to appreciate autumn. There are a lot of less tangible but nevertheless significant aspects that contribute to my affection for this time of year. One feeling that I’ve come to associate with fall is this feeling of odd nostalgia. I haven’t quite put my finger on it yet, but I think it partially has something to do with the fact that school always started up in the fall, and since fall is such a distinctive season, I’ve linked the two together quite strongly. A lot of things always tended to happen in the first semester or so of school, so I have a lot of memories to draw on when I’m prompted to reflect on autumns past. I also think that the crisp fall air plays a big part in this sense of nostalgia, serving as a median between the humidity of summer and the burning cold of winter. Like I said, I haven’t quite put my finger on it yet, but a lot of people I’ve spoken to have similar feelings regarding autumn so it’s definitely not just a me thing.
I would be remiss to talk about fall without mentioning perhaps my favorite part of the season: the spooky vibes that come along with it. It is undeniable that fall is the time of the year when creepiness peaks, beginning to rise in mid-September before peaking on Halloween, then slowly declining in November. The signs are obvious if you know where to look. The days get shorter and shorter, most of the birds flee for greener pastures leaving only the crows behind, the ghouls crawl out from their graves, and I am completely here for it. Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday and I love all things associated with it. From the complicated displays that allow people to express their creativity to the increased appreciation for horror, a genre that really doesn’t get the credit it deserves most of the time, Halloween time is one of the few parts of the year where we’re encouraged to enjoy the darker side of things, which I think is a nice change of pace. Things just feel a little bit mystical as Halloween gets closer and closer, a feeling that literally no other holiday gives me, hence its very strong appeal.
Like I said, my reasons for loving fall are multifaceted. Some are surface level, some are more personal, and some are based on the availability of candy corn. It’s a complex season, a time of transitions and I appreciate that instability– it makes things a lot more interesting. At the very least, if there’s any takeaway from this, it’s that I’m very pleased that my last fall on the hill has been one of the most vibrant falls I’ve ever seen.