Just as school settles in, the repetitive tweets about football and bonfires begin. Many seem to not realize that you can have a bonfire any month of the year. Then comes lust for boots and leaves and all things pumpkin. Not to blame school for the obsession for fall, but sudden stress over grades and tests may play a part in this annual trend. We all want something to be excited for – something besides school to obsess over. Maybe we just need something to claim as a positive.

I for one used to be one of the many tweeters of all things fall, but thanks to the million other girls, I no longer need to.

Rather than post about how excited I am, I spend all my time (and drain my battery) on Pinterest pinning pumpkins galore. There is an array of recipes to add pumpkin flavor to any food or drink imaginable – pumpkin spice, white chocolate pumpkin, caramel pumpkin, pumpkin pie – not to mention caramel apples and candy apples! And what about s’mores?

This year not only has Starbucks brought back their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte, but they have additionally created a new fall drink – Toasted Graham Latte.

Not only are the drinks so warm, so good, but how can all the decor not warm your heart? We all wake up one Saturday morning and decide “today is the day”. All decorations come down from the attic and we spend time and money carving pumpkins, attempting DIY fall projects, and simply trying to dress the house to impress any possible visitors.

I am sure by now we have all taken an art class and come to realize that fall colors are “warm” colors. We are surrounded in heavenly FALLing leaves. Even when the temperatures drop and the wind is a wild hurricane, we will bustle outside to take the most picture perfect photos we can.

One thing we must not forget is Halloween, AKA the least meaningful holiday of the year, where children dress as princesses and superheroes and teenagers prefer minimal clothing, parties, and haunted houses. All the hype for this so-called holiday is actually worth the time. You don’t have to focus on the meaning of the holiday because there really is no meaning to it. Halloween is mostly an excuse to dress up, or down, and eat candy and party. Imagine how much candy is passed out on October 31st. How can Halloween not be your favorite?

Just after Halloween we are given a few weeks to sleep off the excessive candy consumption just in time for Thanksgiving. We are told Thanksgiving is about being thankful and giving grace, but, for the most part, we just sit around eating. It just makes it sentimental to eat with family. Eating many things with family still flavored pumpkin.

The home is filled with candles all scented “pumpkin”, “caramel apple”, and “leaves”, all while the outside of our houses consist of real pumpkins that have been carved for Halloween, mostly like sitting in the cold air, rotting out.

When you get to thinking about the hidden and overlooked aspects of fall, you may wonder why we love the fall so much. It has got to be the school fuss. Rotting pumpkins aren’t near as bad as smelly bathrooms. Cheap candy and pumpkin baking A-Z is a hundred times better than the school cafeteria. It is as simple as that.

Our hate for school creates our love for fall. We need that little something. Personally, I too love that little something.