In late September every year, Wesleyan warmly welcomes the chilly air and fun activities of autumn. Colorful leaves grace the trees, followed soon after by large piles, perfect for jumping into, scattered around campus. The fall season is a beautiful one for New England residents, and it seems to be appreciated just as much by students from other parts of the world.
But students’ favorite aspects of autumn differ- some are happy enough with the word itself.
“Fall is good for a few things,” said Meredith Steinberg ’06. “One is that it can be called autumn, which is a fun word, especially when made into the adjective ‘autumnal,’ which is an even better word.”
Most, if not all, students admit to being in awe of the beauty of the leaves. The intense shades of red and orange that color the trees cause many people to stop in their tracks and admire them.
“I like the fall because I like the way the trees look,” said Pepe Ahn ’04. “I probably sound like a dork, but when the leaves are yellow, and the wind blows them off the trees, I feel like I’m in Lothlorien. And my dog likes to play in the leaves.”
Apparently, pets are not the only creatures at the university that enjoy a romp in the leaves. Some students also like to let loose by jumping into the numerous piles.
“I like to play in piles of leaves,” said Michelle Atwood ’05. “Some of my most memorable college conversations have happened after we were exhausted from leaf fighting.”
Sadly, this autumn has not been very conducive to leaf antics. Ardent leaf jumpers are not afraid to show their displeasure towards weather that has left the once crisp leaves soggy.
“I’m infuriated that it’s been raining,” Steinberg said. “All the leaf piles are soaked and no fun for throwing myself into headfirst.”
Despite these complaints about the recent weather, other students welcome the rain.
“It rains in autumn, and rain is my favorite kind of weather,” said Gwyneth Harrison-Shermoen ’05.
In addition, many people are partial to the fall air, which they feel is unique from the air during the rest of the year.
“I love how the air is always so crisp, and everything feels like a picture,” said Atwood. “You can look outside and see all these splashes of color on the trees, and that always makes me smile. The sun always feels different in the fall, in some odd way that I can’t really explain.
”During the fall, I love the smell of smoke coming from a chimney mingled with the scent of damp leaves,“ said Matt Wendus ’05.
One of the best things about the fall, according to some people, is the temperature. It is neither too hot nor too cold to spend time outside comfortably.
”I love the beautiful weather,“ said Toby Shaw ’07. ”It’s perfect for jogging, and it’s always so nice to sit outside with friends and just relax. It’s not so easy to do that when it gets freezing out.“
While the fall weather is a far cry from the bitter cold of the winter, it is definitely brisk at times. To many people, this isn’t a bad thing.
”My cheeks get all red and bright from the cold…[I love] that fun tingly feeling when you finally get warm after being so cold, and you are so happy to be warm,“ said Emily Klasson ’06. ”I think they are related.“
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