The Fall Mentality

We at the Edge don’t care if the weather app says it’s going to be 70 degrees this week. Fall is so much more than a weather pattern; it’s a mentality. At this point in the semester, it can be easy to get caught up in the school work, the bustling extracurriculars, the million obligations you inevitably have. But there’s something so romantic and novel about this time of year; take the time out of your day to savor it. 

Summer is great and all, but autumn brings in a breath of crisp, fresh air. It brings out an indescribable feeling you often forget about until it arrives. Its like an old friend you haven’t seen in a while, but have been dying to catch up with. 

Not to get too nostalgic, but it took me a long time to truly appreciate fall. As a kid, it was always something associated with the dreaded back to school season. I hated it and hoped it would never come. But as soon as it arrived, I was the first to race to my local pumpkin patch and pick out a fresh box of apple cider donuts. I laced up my cleats and took to the yellowing grass of my town’s soccer field as the sun faded from the sky. As it got dark outside, I felt enveloped in a soothing, melancholic hug. It turns out, fall is summer’s mature, elevated, all-knowing sister. Someone who’s grown more complex and inviting with time. Haven’t we all?

When you think about it, the winter holidays have always been so forced, so commercial. And despite all the ways capitalism tries to barge in (Halloween, we’re looking at you), there’s something so organic about the way fall makes us feel. Let’s take this moment to heal our inner child, and our relationship with this time of year. 

Usually, when healing from something, a go-to movie is 500 Days of Summer. Definitely a strange choice (but if anyone out there is struggling with unrequited love… WATCH). It’s another thing that has aged beautifully with time as we mature and see it from a different lens. There’s nuance that comes from each character’s complexity. For all the patriarchal bullshit it gets wrong about women, there is one thing it gets right: Autumn. Autumn is a fresh start. A time of growth and evolution. Take autumn in your stride, let it inspire you to be your most authentic self. The leaves are changing, and so are you. 

Let’s romanticize this fall feeling before winter decides to rear its ugly head. Notice the leaves that crunch under your feet on the way to class. Really feel those bulky sweaters wrapping you up in warmth. Eat a Pillsbury pumpkin cookie or two. Hold fall in your grasp and take the time to get to know her, before she’s just a memory.