I find that every year when fall rolls around, I spend most of my time mourning summer. I deny the new breezes, wear tank tops as long as humanly possible, and forget that fall is one of the best seasons there is. We have already rounded the corner of Halloween, and just as quickly as the trees turned multicolored they have begun to lose their leaves. I feel like I’ve done it again: let another fall pass without getting in the true spirit.
When I went home for fall break, I was reminded of why it was even more difficult for me to get into the fall spirit: I’ve been living in the same place for months! The best part of fall is at home, driving around and seeing Halloween decorations flood yards and witnessing orchards open for business. Simply driving through my own neighborhood made me feel in the spirit.
When I returned to Holy Cross from fall break, I realized I needed to find a way into the fall spirit before I blinked and it was 20 degrees and snowman season. After coming to terms with the fact that my stomach and dining dollar capacity could not take a $6.00 pumpkin chai from Stein once a day, I decided to look elsewhere. That’s when I took a trip to Cool Beans, scrolled the menu, and stumbled upon my new fall personality: a large iced apple cider. At a (debatably) reasonable price of $3.75, I could have a fall treat to get me through my study sessions at the science library. And may I tell you, it’s delicious. While it’s likely just poured from a gallon jug purchased at Stop & Shop, something about it in a Cool Beans cup just elevates it.
So my three suggestions for a perfect fall: 1) Go home and get off campus if you can, you forget how much there is out of this bubble. 2) Don’t let the dread of winter ruin your fall, before you know it, you’ll miss 50 degrees. 3) Try a Cool Beans apple cider (but not so much that they run out, I still need some to get through writing my research paper).