Columnist Erin Davoran expresses her love for the colorful and cool season that is filled with some of OU’s best weekends.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: autumn in Athens.
Athens is a beautiful town all year round, but it's most beautiful in the fall. Don’t believe me? Just scroll through every Instagram of the early sunsets and colorful leaves on College Green. The only other time people take that many pictures to show the beauty of our town is when Court Street is lit up for Christmas, which technically, since winter doesn’t officially start until Dec. 22, will still be in fall. So yeah, fall rules.
And yeah, it’s technically been fall since the end of September, but now you can see it. Now you can feel it.
Fall has given us Homecoming and HallOUween, and we’re about to have Dads Weekend. Those are three of the best OU weekends. Fall owns them all.
Thanksgiving is a mere three weeks away! Though it should be noted that Thanksgiving is super problematic in its celebration of the pilgrims and colonization and all that. However, I like to take it as a day of gratitude for everything I have, especially family, friends and turkey dressing.
Have you gone to Hocking Hills or climbed Bong Hill or done any other things in nature recently? Do it now and be surrounded by the fullness of fall.
Before long, the colorful leaves will fall and the air will grow colder. Unofficial winter will start and final exams will loom.
But, then it’s Christmas! (Or another religious holiday you may celebrate that worked well with the Roman calendar to put it in December). But I celebrate Christmas. And I love Christmas. Not for the gifts, though they are nice. Buying presents always stresses me (and my wallet) out, and receiving presents can make me feel guilty, especially when they come from my parents who already do and give so much for me and to me.
But like Thanksgiving, it’s a time to be grateful for family and friends. And Christmas cookies. It’s a time to go home to Cincinnati and reunite with loved ones and wear my mom’s old Christmas sweaters ironically (though the more years I wear them, the more they grow on me. The irony may be fading).
I love Christmas in Cincinnati like I love fall in Athens.
Though fall is also filled with stress, projects and applications for jobs and internships, the mood the season brings helps me breathe a little easier through all of it. Maybe it’s because it’s cool enough not to make me feel like I’ve bursted into flames when I’m running around like a maniac. Maybe it’s because it’s not cold and wet enough yet to make my face brittle and painful, every step I take on an icy campus bringing me one step closer to possible death. Maybe it’s because I love sweaters and boots and apple pie. Maybe it’s the visual aesthetic that is calming to my brain. (I'm not an expert on this. Any art or psychology majors want to weigh in?)
Maybe it’s all of it. Whatever the reason(s), I’m grateful. I’m glad we have our old, pretty campus to appreciate it in its autumn glory.
So take that picture of that pretty tree outside your window. Buy that pumpkin spice latte. Listen to Christmas music months early (I proudly admit I listen to it all year round. Sue me). Go hiking or just sit outside to take it all in.
Have a great fall weekend with your dads. Like Parents Weekend, I’m glad we have this time together. Dads Weekends have been so fun for me and my dad. We love to go to Hocking Hills. We’ve seen a few shows at MemAud. Last year, we played Cards Against Humanity with friends (it was a little weird, but very funny). This last one is sure to be a good one for us.
Have a great Dads Weekend. Have a great fall. It’s the happiest season of all.
Erin Davoran is a senior studying journalism. What is your favorite thing about Athens in the Fall? Tweet her @erindavoran or email her at ed414911@ohio.edu.
