ISABELLA INZINNA
Staff Writer
The leaves are turning orange, the air is cool and crisp, ah it’s fall again, obviously the best season.
What other season has two names?
I mean you have winter, spring, summer and fall. But fall has a much cooler name: autumn.
How pretty is that?
But obviously that’s not enough to convince you that fall is the best season, so let me just explain a little.
There’s something about stepping outside in the fall that’s just *chef’s kiss* amazing.
The air is crisp and it’s cold enough to comfortably wear sweaters and hoodies.
Honestly, I feel like pairing them with some nice ripped jeans makes for some of the best outfits. So many people have told me that their best outfits appear in colder weather too.
Now, I feel like I skipped ahead a little bit.
Late September to early October is the absolute best time for apple and pumpkin picking.
It’s not absolutely freezing yet, so you can walk through a pumpkin patch or apple orchard with friends or family.
If you go to a good place, they have apple cider, and maybe even apple cider donuts.
It’s just an all around good time.
Plus, there’s my favorite holiday, Halloween.
It is just such an elite holiday for kids and college students.
For kids, there’s trick or treating, candy, you know the drill.
For us?
Halloween shows.
Local bands doing Halloween concerts are top-tier.
For example, the band Fernway has a Halloween show in Buffalo. They’re even doing a costume contest. Last year, Johnny and the Mankids, another local band, dressed up for one of their Halloween shows.
And totally unbiased, Fredonia Radio Systems has a Halloween event on Friday.
If you’re still not convinced, I have one last thought for your consideration:
Maybe you’re not a Halloween person, but most people enjoy at least one type of candy.
The second Halloween is over, you have access to clearance candy. We’re talking big bags of candy that are meant to be distributed to small armies of children for only a couple bucks.
Fall is simply the season that keeps on giving, and if you weren’t convinced, well, I’m sure you are now.
MARISSA BURR
Opinion Editor
Sugar cookies rise softly as they bake in the heat,
so they may accompany a tall glass of apple cider
and the newest bestselling novel.
Flannels protect my arms in the morning
from the frigid chill that blows through the air
But hang tied around my waist later
as the sun warms it all.
Leaf colors change like a flame growing hotter,
so as I drive through the country
it looks like the walls of hell
but with the peace of heaven.
Apples, pumpkins and pears alike,
the fruits of our labor will soon be reaped
as the autumn season arrives
and all tensions may be released.
BRENDA STEINER
Special to The Leader
I swear I closed my eyes for only a second, but in that moment the sweltering heat was swept away by a cool breeze.
In that moment, the sun-kissed greens of the trees became tinged with swatches of burnt oranges and mellow yellows.
In that moment, all around me, that autumnal change had crept up and wrapped its arms around us all.
Now my days are starting to change with it.
Thick hoodies and checkered shirts having waited so patiently since temperatures started to rise, slowly make their way back into daily rotation.
At least one soft, fuzzy blanket drapes across my lap, my hands wrapped around a mug full to the brim.
I reach for drinks that, due to unspoken social constructs, can only be sipped on once my weather app displays the correct temperature: spiced apple cider with partially-melted whipped cream, hot chocolate too scalding to bring to my lips right away, chai lattes with notes of cinnamon and pumpkin spice.
For me, this transitional season brings a certain melancholy with it. In the back of my mind, I know that it won’t stop getting colder.
The days won’t stop getting shorter.
Those oranges and yellows will slip away, and the trees will stand lonely and bare.
Blank white, mixed with gray sludge, will dominate the world for six months — an eternity. A crushing weight will press into my shoulders, threatening to topple me over.
It will feel as though there’s not another soul around.
The world will feel suffocating; I will feel numb.
And I know those feelings will go away, that the melting snow will seep into the earth and take my troubles with it. I also know when flakes dive towards the ground once more, they bring those troubles back with them.
But, for now, I will pull my sweater sleeves around my hands and feel the steam of my beverage settle on my face.
I will watch leaves race each other in the wind as I walk to class. I will view the sun as a treasure and not a burden, thankful for its kisses as it retreats earlier and earlier, and brace myself for all to come.