Wednesday, September 23, marks the first day of fall for the world (or, this part of the hemisphere, at least). With fall comes the wonderful times of warm, sunny days and cool, dark nights. The leaves start browning and falling, leaving beautiful landscapes that make perfect screensavers, and the air tends to be filled with a smoky aroma because of the amount of bonfires people are having, roasting marshmallows over the open flames. Here, at CNU, there are many ways to notice that fall is among us, and below are just a few.
1. PSLs are available at Einstein’s. For the first six shifts I have worked at Einstein’s, at least one person has asked about ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte (I myself made one at the end of my shift Thursday). Yes, they are here, and you can usually find them in the hands of girls wearing black yoga pants and long-sleeved t-shirts, their hair up in high donut buns. And, even though PSLs are notated for being drunk by “basic” people, they’re actually pretty good, and you can’t deny that smelling pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg reminds you of some of the best parts about fall: fall break and Thanksgiving break.
2. Cooler weather. Pretty sure this one’s obvious, buttt, in case you didn’t notice: the weather has been getting cooler. No longer are people arriving to classes with an outline of their backpack straps on the back of their shirts from sweating; instead, people are carrying around heavier sweaters and wearing jeans everyday. This week, the Weather Channel forecasts that Newport News will be experiencing temperatures in the mid-to-high 70s, finally getting us away from the high humidity that caused everyone to have a bad hair day.
3. The physics kids went outside. Last week, you could hear the wonderful and harmonious sound of an airhorn being blasted over the Great Lawn during the day. In fact, it was done so much that supposedly President Trible himself went out and asked what was going on (source: Yik Yak). Note to all: not everything you see on Yik Yak is true. However, I wouldn’t put it past President Trible to have something to say about the constant blaring of an airhorn, because even I was getting annoyed. All’s fair in science and learning, though, right?
4. Spirit Halloween is open at Patrick Henry Mall. About 10 minutes away from campus lies the only indoor mall that you can get to without having to deal with an extreme amount of traffic. Bonus points: its got the closest Chipotle (ding ding ding!). In fact, inside the mall, across from the new Body Bar, is the seasonal specialty store Spirit Halloween, which sells a variety of Halloween costumes and decorations that will provide you with an ultimate Halloween experience (if you’re into that sort of thing). And what spells fall better than glowing, eerie pumpkins and glow-in-the-dark headstones?
5. Football and Tailgating on Saturdays. I mean, duh. Even though this past Saturday there wasn’t a football/tailgating event on campus, you get excited just thinking about the next time you’re going to be able to play a couple of rounds of cornhole, enjoy the loud music coming from people’s car stereos, stomp out your frustration at the fumble on our side, or enjoy the beautiful tunes the Marching Captains perform on Saturdays. Because, really, football = fall.
So the next time you’re meandering around campus, make sure to be on the lookout for these signs, and even make a few of your own! Stay classy, Captains!