As the leaves change, we crave to reinvent ourselves as we transition into our autumn personalities.
We’ve entered the month of October, and the air is crisper, and the days are getting shorter. We begin settling down to focus on school, switching out our tank tops for cable-knit sweaters and buying candles that smell like the pumpkin pie our mom used to make.
Throughout the summer, I longed for the days of fall and its structure that would ground me. I was working two jobs while trying to soak up every bit of the sun I could, but unfortunately, this led to several burnouts, whether from working too much or literal burns from the sun.
Although this is a sad sign that summer has ended, some of us prefer to switch out our summer personality for our fall one as we feel the urge to reinvent ourselves.
From a young age, we’re conditioned to believe that fall is a time of fresh beginnings. I remember constantly searching for a new wardrobe or school supplies, secretly hoping everyone would be in awe over my new and improved self.
The back-to-school season is a time for students to get a fresh start to a new academic year, with new people to meet and new opportunities to chase.
In addition to this fresh beginning, the nature surrounding us changes, emanating warm and vibrant colours of red and orange while scents of dead leaves flood the streets. The warm air of summer has ended, yet we still crave time to spend outdoors, witnessing the beautiful way nature dies around us. Being engulfed in this transition of the seasons allows us to reflect on ourselves as we crave a similar fresh start to the one we’re witnessing outdoors.
The activities that come with the seasons changing are tenfold and help usher in the new season. Going to the pumpkin patch, apple picking, or baking fall desserts brings a certain sense of nostalgia. I long to recreate the warmth and joy brought to my home as my mom and I would buy some sweet scented candle that was perfect for the fall, or I’d force my older sister to bake with me.
Even the holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween, celebrate the season with us. We look forward to these days as early as possible into the season, marking them on our calendar, celebrating them with a school break, and dressing up in fun costumes with our friends.
We’ve even taken cultural phenomena like the widespread “BRAT Summer” and updated it to fit our fall personality. Taking the line “bumpin’ that” from Charli XCX’s song “365,” the internet has now made a meme reading “pumpkin that” in the now-familiar BRAT format, although it takes place in an orange setting, perfect for fall.
With this, we’ve taken the season as our own, celebrating in whichever ways feel best. Whether you’re someone who looks forward to fall fashion or the smell of a fresh notebook, there’s a way for you to look forward to reinventing yourself as we fall into our autumn personalities.
