by Eden Carter
Everyone constantly raves about the best parts of fall, the picture-perfect obsessions only found around this time of the year. But is it really all that great? At first glance, how could you say no? It's the time of leaves shifting into beautiful colors, warm sweaters, and pumpkin spice. Summer gives way into a transitional spell that welcomes everything from a whole different wardrobe to the gradual receding of heavy heat and blinding sun.
Wait… does this mean it’s going to be that time of the year when it’s cold in the morning, warm in the afternoon, and cold again at night? That time of year when you’re always too hot or uncomfortably cold, when you never know how to dress properly, and have to start doing more laundry to catch up with the layers of clothes you have on? Yeah… that time of year.
Next, we have to consider the pressure we’re under at the very beginning of fall. What we are going to be for Halloween, and what we are going to do that night? Though Halloween is a highly anticipated fall event, it has many downfalls that people don't like to admit. Equally important is the increasing amount of homework that students are tasked with as the first semester sets in, along with the stress of college applications for seniors.
Pumpkin spice can indeed be seen as everything nice. But is it really? Along with the revival of pumpkin spice there are inevitably those who are outspoken in their hatred of this fall flavor, only serving to remind us of some people’s fixation on petty things.
But don’t forget about the reddish-gold leaves dangling overhead and the nice crunch of walking over them! How could that be bad? If you look at the reality of it, these leaves quickly become wet and soggy, courtesy of the morning dew. They also get walked over so much that they stick to the sidewalk, making them difficult for people to clean up.
And how can you make the idea of “sweater weather” bad? The thing is, in bringing out our sweaters and fall attire, we create another problem; finding a place for all of our summer wear to go. Shorts and tank tops won’t do too well in the theoretically colder weather. In addition, there's an even more pronounced subversion in sweater weather's rhyming phrase. In summer-centric places - like San Diego - fall is as romanticized as it is anywhere else, yet, weather still fluctuates wildly between blazing sun one day and pouring rain the next. Having any consistent idea of comfortable fall dress is practically a myth.
Lastly, we absolutely need to acknowledge how autumn is the beginning of flu season. Everyone is coughing, calling out sick, and using up thousands of tissues. Being at school feels like dancing across a minefield of infection!
Overall, it’s true that fall is amazing; almost everyone loves it for a good reason. However, we must accept there are some pretty unappealing parts of fall too, making it undeniably more overhyped than any other season. But in the end, no matter how many itchy sweaters you wear this year or how much you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning because of the cold, fall still may very well be the second best season… only surpassed by the one that precedes it, of course.