Fall has always been my favorite season. Besides the fact that it means the beginning of school, what’s not to love? There is nothing quite like walking outside in the crisp air, with a warm drink, and listening to a podcast. Growing up in Michigan, fall meant apple orchards, pumpkin carving, hayrides, and jumping in leaf piles. Most importantly though, it meant sitting on grass fields, and eventually in stadiums, to watch my brothers play football. Fall signaled time well spent with my family, and it will always remind me of some of my favorites moments with them. When deciding where to go to college, I knew I could never live somewhere where I could not enjoy my favorite season. Wherever I chose to go would have to live up to my expectation for this beautiful period of the year; lucky for me I found just the place.
I came to Ann Arbor for one of my first college visits on a Friday afternoon in October-and I fell in love. My mom and I made our usual Starbucks stop to fuel up on caffeine. We then headed to the Diag, where the sun was shining on the newly orange leaves. It was the perfect fall day. While I already knew academically that this was my dream school, it was in that moment, that I decided it was also my dream campus. My mom may have hoped I would head somewhere warm, so she could come visit me in the winter, deciding to come to UMich turned out to be the best decision for me.
You see as I mentioned at the beginning, the one part of fall that I hate, is the start of school. I did not realize how hard this period would be for me, even in college. At the start of both my Sophomore and Junior years, I had a hard time moving away from the comfort of home; I missed my family and friends. But the feeling of fall was comforting. It reminds me of all the best times spent with my family, which puts me at ease. Stepping into the Big House on Saturdays, sends me right back in time to watching my brothers on the field (albeit, now there’s about 105,000 more people). Fall makes me happy, and as I spend my third fall on campus, I have accumulated a list of my favorite ways to enjoy the season, so here they are:
- Going on morning walks in the Arb to watch the changing leaves.
- Buying absurd amounts of pumpkin and apple scented things to mask the old house smell.
- Taking a trip to Trader Joe’s to test out all of the crazy fall-themed goodies.
- Making Starbucks runs to buy as many Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews as humanly possible.
- Visiting a nearby cider mill for pumpkin picking and donuts.
Here’s to another fall season in Ann Arbor!