“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” A wonderful quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly summing up the magic that the autumnal seasons blesses us with.

After a few too many weeks of overheated cars and unnecessary sweating on the walk across campus, it is finally beginning to feel like fall. Hallelujah! If you’re anything like me, the first morning of waking up to cloud coverage and crisp air brought as much relief as it did excitement. The best season is upon us! 

In grade school, summer was always dubbed the greatest of seasons, solely due to the fact that we did not have to be in school for three months. We set aside our times tables sheets, bought some flip flops at Old Navy and welcomed a few leisurely months of running around with our neighborhood friends, drinking lemonade and going to swim practice. 

But now, we are in college, and though many of us still ritualistically take off the summer, the freedom that it once provided us as youngsters is no more. Rather than orchestrating a sick game of groundies with our group of bratty friends, we got our grimy hands on internships, took summer classes and worked and saved money. Summer, for the most part, loses its magic when college begins.

That is why, at the beginning of my freshman year at Colorado State, fall took summer’s coveted position of “Favorite Season.” It is not just because fall is literally the most majestic thing to ever happen to Fort Collins, but because with fall comes the feeling of renewal, of coziness and warm pumpkin and apple pie vibes. And that is something we all look forward to. 

My best friends and I lose our cool over fall. We’re old women at heart, so when this time of the year rolls around, we indulge ourselves in baking pumpkin goodies, gathering at the coziest of coffee shops to laugh at dumb jokes, going to the pumpkin patch and yelling sweet nothings in the middle of the fields, buying autumnal candles, burying our bodies in leaves, sharing our warmest sweaters and blankets, having movie nights and cuddling with each other because no one else wants to.

My friend, who we will call Clarissa, loves fall because she says it gives her a chance to wear 75 percent of her wardrobe, which consists of sweaters and flannels.

“Fall is cold and breezy and colorful,” she says. “It’s the reign of the great pumpkin, and it’s the signal of the start of the three months that are the holiday season.”

My other friend, who we will call Mckenzie, finds fall to be perfectly charming, and claims that “fall doesn’t have a single downside in (her) book.” She also says that she lives for the warm fuzzy feeling you get in a scary corn maze when you’re being chased by a man with a chainsaw.

“Fall somehow makes everything more romantic in my head,” she says. “Like going to the bank in the fall? How cute is that?” 

Autumn gives us so many reasons to be happy. But since my heart is coated black, I need to mention the downside of this season. And that is: a hyperawareness of how single you are.

Fall screams intimacy – more than I do on my normal walk through campus. And pretty soon, we will have cuffing season. Cuffing season is just sad for everyone who can’t find a person worthy of their cuddles. That’s why you should find friends who are just as relationally devoid as you are so you can cuddle one another and cook them brunch on weekends.

Now I’m just sidetracking. The point is: fall is the best season, and I am overjoyed that we are inching our way into it. Wear your sweaters and flannels. Drink your pumpkin spiced lattes (or your Chemex pour-overs, for those who are above everyone else). Bake goodies and share them with those you love most. And find friends and puppies who will cuddle with you. 

Collegian A&E reporter can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com, or on Twitter @zar_degroot.