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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at LUM chapter.

As the weather has been getting colder, I’ve found myself pulling out my sweaters and favorite boot cut jeans yet again, wishing I was allowed to light my green apple candle in my dorm room. The transition between seasons always feels weird, it feels like I never process what season it is until the end. I never appreciate summer until I’m heading back to school, I never appreciate winter until the last frost is gone and sweat begins to lick my temples. I’ve decided this year I’m going to live in the moment, to appreciate the beauty of each season as it happens, not after. So, I have decided to put together a list of things I want to do this fall. I probably won’t get to all of these if I am being completely honest, but nonetheless, I shall put this together so we can all participate in the beauty of fall together! 

  1. Go to a pumpkin patch! 

One of my favorite things when I was little was my sister and I piling into the back of my mom’s minivan and going as a whole family to a farm in upstate Georgia. My sister and I were each allowed to pick out two pumpkins, one big one and one small one. I loved nothing more than taking a crayon, outlining a scary face, and watching my dad carve up a pumpkin. Even if you can’t carve a pumpkin, I definitely recommend finding a pumpkin patch in your area and picking one out! It can be a small or a big one, but I always find that having that splash of orange just makes me feel so much more ready for fall. And, of course, it’s the perfect setting for Instagram pictures. 

  1. Decorate your room! 

Something that has made me feel much more spooky and ready for sweater weather this season has been decorating my apartment! One of my roommate’s moms sent a little package filled with mini skeletons and plastic bats to stick to the walls, so of course, we now have a skeleton for each of us and a mosaic of bats along the walls! It has definitely made me feel much more ready for October, and it really adds to the Halloween vibes. I recommend the dollar section at Target, they have the cutest mini felt pumpkins and so many cute, cheap fall decor options. And if you don’t feel like heading out, you can always print out little bats or spooky drawings and hang them up! Having something you see every day that gives fall vibes is one of the easiest ways to properly experience the season! 

  1. Go to a haunted house! 

Now, this is something I’ve only ever done once, but it was the most fun experience ever! It was so funny getting to run around with my sister and mom, laughing so hard we could barely stand and just making jokes about all the scary things we saw. I always thought haunted houses would be way too scary for me, but it really isn’t as long as you remember that it’s just people, people you probably would see at the grocery store or Starbucks. Nothing gets you quite in the mood for fall like getting scared with your friends, and it’s always an amazing bonding experience. 

  1. Watch a scary movie! 

In a similar vein to haunted houses, I absolutely love to watch scary movies! Now, I’m not super into the bloody and gory movies like the Terrifier or Friday the 13th, but I absolutely love psychological horror movies, like Donny Darko, Psycho, and Black Swan. Movies that don’t quite qualify as pure horror, but still unsettle me, and give me that spooky feeling. Curl up with some popcorn, maybe some ice cream, and settle in for a dark and mysterious film that leaves you counting down the days until Oct. 31! 

  1. Bake some cookies! 

Growing up, I always knew fall had finally arrived when my mom made us the first batch of cookies that we had had in months. Now, she wasn’t a huge baker, so we would always use the boxes from Publix, adding in the eggs and such and only mixing and shaping the cookies as opposed to making everything from scratch. That never made it any less exciting though! Nothing was better than coming home from a crisp fall day at school and helping mom mix the batter and make silly shapes with the dough. Take the time out of your day to make yourself some cookies, or even brownies, to really get yourself in the fall spirit. My favorite baking trick for the best cookies; underbake them every so slightly. It makes them perfectly gooey and absolutely delicious! 

  1. Press leaves! 

Something my friends and I loved to do during high school was go for a walk or a hike and pick up the most beautiful, colorful leaves that we felt represented us the best. We would take these leaves and add them to our notebooks; I always loved to put mine in my English folder. This was always such a fun way to remember the season and of course, appreciate the beauty of nature. If you’ve never pressed leaves before, I highly recommend it. It’s such a fun, calming fall activity to do with your friends and family, but make sure you watch a YouTube video beforehand to make sure you are properly preserving your fall day. 

  1. Visit a bookstore! 

Last, but certainly not least, visit a local bookstore! Now, I may be a bit biased in this one because I love bookstores year-round (and used to work at one), but they do truly put me in the fall spirit! Maybe it helps because I’m channeling my inner Rory Gilmore at all times, but I feel like nothing is better than walking around with coffee or hot chocolate in an oversized sweater while looking at Edgar Allen Poe poems. I always feel so productive, even if I’m not working on anything, because bookstores are really just a place where your soul can get a good reset. Especially as the seasons are changing, it’s important to remember to ground yourself, enjoy the simple things in life, and have a lovely fall. :) 

Colleen Minnaugh is a sophomore at Loyola University Maryland. She is originally from Atlanta GA, and is a writing major with an English minor. Writing and reading have been a huge part of her life since middle school; from AP Literature, to dramatic writing class, she has always known that writing would be a huge part of her life. Colleen has been working at her local, all female owned and operated bookstore since she was fifteen years old, leading her to be exposed to many different kinds of writing styles and genres, but she quickly discovered that classic literature holds a very special place in her heart. From the stories told by the likes of Charlotte Bronte, Franz Kafka, to even the occasional contemporary author such as Sylvia Plath, Colleen is absolutely captivated by the beloved classics. Colleen will mainly aim to write opinion based pieces on current events, pop culture, politics, book reviews, movie recommendations, and so much more! She will publish an article about every two weeks, and she hopes that you enjoy them each time!