The leaves are turning orange. The weather is getting chilly. The sun is saying goodbye earlier and earlier. You know what that means? It’s fall, y’all, and if you can’t tell, I am overjoyed. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, and even though fall activities change as you get older, it’s still the same feeling. Here are just some of the reasons why I am so happy for fall:

Long socks with boots. Long, fuzzy socks fill me with so much joy. They look cute peeking out over the tops of boots and they keep your feet warm. Walmart has a lot of really cute, inexpensive socks!

Sweaters. Who doesn’t love wearing an oversized sweater when it’s chilly outside? Sweaters are the perfect combination of cozy and stylish to tie together your fall look. Maurices has some of the cutest sweaters you can find, and they are always having sales.

Pumpkin patches. Going to a pumpkin patch in the fall is a magical experience. Going with your friends to pick out the best pumpkins is childlike and fun. The best part, in my opinion, is taking the pumpkins home and carving silly faces into them (and using the insides to make pumpkin bread and roasted pumpkin seeds!)

Scary movies. My friend group loves sitting in the dark with big bowls of popcorn and watching scary movies. This time of year is when most scary movies are set since Halloween is quickly approaching, so it gets us in the perfect mood for a marathon. To top it off, Freeform is now doing 31 Nights of Halloween instead of the traditional 13, so it looks like we get even more Hocus Pocus than we hoped for!

Halloween. Halloween is fun for all ages in different ways. In college, we might miss trick-or-treating, but now we can start handing out the candy and dishing out the scares. If you live off campus, you might get trick-or-treaters, and you might try to scare them by jumping out from behind a bush while wearing a scary mask. Just don’t scare them too much or you’ll have angry parents on your hands.

Thanksgiving. Turkey. Potatoes. Stuffing. Macaroni and cheese. Green bean casserole. Corn. Sweet rolls. Pie. GRAVY. Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving? Gathering all together with your family to eat good food and watch football is an unmatchable happiness. Everyone is happy because they’re eating their favorite foods, and if our football team is winning, the atmosphere is even better.

Homecoming. Speaking of football, homecoming is coming up next month. If you only go to one football game each year, it should be this one. A lot of EIU alumni come back to campus for this game, and it’s really cool to see so many people supporting your school.

Fall has finally begun, and I hope you’re just as excited as I am, because there are a lot of things to enjoy about this time of year!

Jessica Stewart is a sophomore English education major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at jrstewart3@eiu.edu.