Fall Is Main Character Season

“I am an Autumn.” – Richard Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

There’s something almost magical about reaching the end of September. Fall is officially upon us, with Halloween and Thanksgiving on the horizon. Suddenly, coffee-runs need a sweater with the seasonal release of pumpkin-spiced lattes and caramel apple cold brews. The walk between classes is impossible without AirPods playing a fall-curated playlist. Even a trip to the store feels like an excuse to buy a seasonal-scented candle or make a boo basket.

Maybe it’s the weather, the outfits, or pumpkin-flavored everything, but there’s something about fall that feels romantic and cinematic. In fact, it’s the season that encapsulates the most “main-character energy”. 

Fall has the main character drinks

Fall is perhaps the only season where people base part of their personality around what’s in their cup. Sure, summer has iced teas and lemonades, and winter has hot chocolate and peppermint mochas, but fall is when Starbucks runs, and on-campus coffee shop study sessions become a whole event.

The annual return of the pumpkin spice latte (PSL) itself feels like such an anticipated announcement, especially for caffeine addicts and fall enthusiasts, along with lots of other major chains and local cafes releasing their seasonal fall menus between late August and early September. This is also because, after the long, hot summer and the changing of seasons for the first time in a while, things feel cozy enough for a hot drink.

For college students who love caffeine, it’s the perfect excuse to indulge starting when the first leaf changes color. If you want to romanticize a walk to class, throw on your favorite sweater that’s been in the back of your closet all year, grab your drink of choice, and put in your AirPods. Suddenly, a 9 a.m. class seems a whole lot more manageable.

Drink Recommendations: 

Classic: Pumpkin Spice Latte

Sweet: Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew

Cozy: Hot Chai Latte-especially good with your milk of choice

Non-Coffee: Apple Cider.

fall has the main character wardrobe

Fall is when the weather changes enough to style cute outfits comfortably.

After months of sundresses, shorts, and tank tops (which are all fashionable yet somehow at the end of the day get sweaty anyway), the season of layers is finally upon us! 

It’s officially the time of season to pull out sweaters, jackets, scarves, and long skirts. Boots and Uggs practically becoming a lived-in accessory.

Suddenly, getting dressed for class or even running errands becomes an opportunity for a cozy red-carpet moment. Fall fashion also has a beautifully earthy color pallete-browns, burgundies, creams, deep greens and burnt oranges—that somehow mirrors everything happening outside at this time of year.

And maybe that’s part of what makes fall seem so cinematic: just grab a chunky sweater and your comfiest pair of jeans with a pair of brown boots, and suddenly you find yourself adding the word “aesthetic” to everything, even just as a standalone; who cares about proper grammar? As you truly feel like the character of a coming-of-age movie.

Wardrobe Recommendations:

Classic: Oversized sweater + straight-leg jeans + sneakers

Cozy: Crewneck + leggings + claw clip +Uggs 

Preppy: sweater vest + long skirt + loafers

Cowgirl: Plaid flannel + boot-cut jeans + boots

fall has the main character soundtrack

Every main character needs a playlist, and with fall, that practically feels like it comes built in. The mundane becomes eventful, especially with the music, changing leaves, pumpkin patches, and cornfields in the background.

Fall’s soundtrack comes with the sound of acoustic guitars and nostalgic lyrics; if the whole season were a playlist, it would be composed of indie, acoustic singer-songwriter, and folk that all seem to capture the moodiness of the more overcast days and the transitional phase of the season.

For college students especially, fall music has a way of crossing over into everything. Songs you play while getting ready for the day, for studying, driving around town, and songs for walking to class.

Music also helps create a sense of introspection caught between the warmth of summer and the iciness of winter, which creates a melancholic and nostalgic sound quality through the sound of guitars, pianos, and subtle synth. This creates an emotional arc that gives you the quality and mindset of “main character.” 

Try listening to Noah Kahan’s Stick Season while walking back to your apartment or dorm after a long day and you’ll know exactly what I mean!

Fall Music Recommendations

Indie: Phoebe Bridgers

Folk: Noah Kahan

Country: Zach Bryan

Nostalgic: Fleetwood Mac

Pop: Taylor Swift

fall is the main character in pop culture

Perhaps fall feels like the main character season because the media has already long since decided it was. Think about the movies and shows that instantly come to mind once you think of Autumn, and chances are there’s a list.

Who doesn’t wish at this time of year they were in Stars Hollow drinking a cup of coffee at Luke’s just like in Gilmore Girls? Who doesn’t wish they were going on a stroll in Central Park when all the leaves are changing like in When Harry Met Sally? Who doesn’t wish you worked in a cozy bookstore in the city like in You’ve Got Mail? 

Even outside of the screen, the season still has an authentic coming-of-age feel to it. The changing of leaves, going back to school, being inside a coffee shop, the scent of an oversized sweater, and the crisp weather all work together to create a cinematic scene.

We suddenly have the urge to get cozy, whether that’s to rewatch Gilmore Girls, buy a pumpkin spice latte, make an indie playlist to look out a window listening to,o or try to convince yourself that Uggs definitely are an outdoor shoe. 

The media has already written the script; all we have to do is play the main character in our own lives. 

Fall Pop Culture Recommendations

TV: Gilmore Girls

Romance: When Harry Met Sally

Coming Of Age: Dead Poets Society

Fantasy: Harry Potter