Autumn started on September 23rd, and for many of us, the weather has begun getting a lot cooler, which means it’s finally time for cozy nights indoors, sipping on hot chocolate and watching Halloween movies. Autumn is a season that I look forward to every year because one of my favorite things to wear is cozy sweaters and my beloved Ugg boots that I’ve been happily wearing since I was in seventh grade. The leaves will soon change from green to various shades of red, yellow, and orange; soon, it will be winter, and the snow will fall.

I love getting to wear cozy sweaters during the autumn and winter months. Last year, I started wearing skirts with my sweaters, long cardigans over top of them, and warm tights underneath my skirts. I also habitually wear my Ugg boots every day in the autumn. Even though some people may think they went out of style years ago, I still enjoy wearing them because, hey, at least they keep my feet warm. At the beginning of last autumn, I never expected to end up seriously dating anyone anytime soon. I also never expected a guy to love how I dressed because I always found what I wore to be too dorky to attract the attention of one. My boyfriend loves how I dress, which makes coming up with the cute outfits I wear nearly every day a lot more fun.

I’ve always been the type of girl who appreciates the little things in life, like when the seasons change. This year is the first one that I have had a boyfriend to do cute autumn activities with, and that’s something that I have always hoped that I would be able to do. Autumn is a time of change and new beginnings, and this autumn is unlike any other that has happened to me before, although this one is a bit different than last year.

Pumpkin patches are one thing about autumn that I have always enjoyed. I was never a fan of carving pumpkins because I found them too messy, but I always loved trying to find my way through a corn maze with my brother and sister because it was always a competition for us to find our way out before my mom and dad. I probably won’t be carving a pumpkin this year or going to a corn maze, but I’ll never forget the fond memories of doing it with my brother and sister.

The changing leaves on the trees during the autumn months are something that I have always looked forward to seeing every year. Unfortunately, because it was too warm in West Virginia last year, I barely saw any yellow, orange, or red leaves on the trees. I’m hoping that this year, I get to go hiking at some of the Delaware State Parks with my boyfriend and that we get to see some trees changing color because, honestly, it is my favorite part of autumn as a whole.

Halloween is a cheesy holiday where children dress up in costumes and collect candy from their neighbors. Even though I’m not a child anymore, Halloween is a holiday that I’ve looked forward to every year because my parents, brother, and I would always go to the local Chinese restaurant where I grew up on Halloween. Even though I won’t be celebrating Halloween with my family this year, it will be the first year I will get to celebrate it with my boyfriend. Hopefully, I’ll introduce him to my favorite Halloween movies like the Halloweentown movies, Hocus Pocus, Charlie Brown, and The Great Pumpkin.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that I’ve always found to be a waste of time because it revolves around spending too much time with family and eating more food than you usually do. My parents always made smoked turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, green bean casserole, baked beans, sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie. The only thing I ever looked forward to eating every year for Thanksgiving was sweet potato casserole because it was my favorite. This year, I’ll probably spend Thanksgiving alone with my boyfriend because we both don’t enjoy the fuss that holidays bring yearly.

This was written by our contributing writer and editor, Hanna Perry.