Fall is my favorite. Actually, I’m already taking it back, winter has Christmas in it.. Fall and winter are my favorites. Fall colors are my favorite.

Now that we have that cleared up. .

Because fall is one of my favorites, I have collected a great store of memories that pop up during this season, memories that are weird.

Normal people talk about orange leaves, and pumpkin spice lattes, and sweater weather.

I’m a little different. These are things I think of when fall comes around, and what better day to tell you than October first! October is %100 fall.

Absolute first on my list is. . .

Christmas play rehearsals!

Almost every year, from middle school to high school, I was in a Christmas play at church. Not to brag, but yes they were crazy big productions and not a awkward and fidgety Joseph and Mary coddling a plastic baby Jesus. All those years in musicals filled fall with anticipation and nerves and that strange dreading-performance-day-and-having-nightmares-of-embarrassing-myself-on-stage feeling, while at the same time wanting time to go by quicker so Christmas would be here soon.

One crisp puff of cool air in my face and it takes me right back to thick stage makeup, taping mics to your cheek, and square dance choreography. Oh those were the days.

Crushes.

Random enough, fall makes me think of crushes. I was thirteen when I had my first life changing crush. I was also out of town, where the leaves did change to orange and fall off the trees, unlike where I live now. So I was able to experience the smells of pumpkin pie wafting through the air and leaves crunching under my feet and seeing orange in the sky somehow, while of course staring but not-staring at a boy I liked.

Candy.

Cliche answer, but yes fall reminds me of candy. I love candy. I’m always eating candy. I still consider candy acceptable currency. Candy is good. C-A-N-D-Y, don’t even try to be secretive and attempt to spell it around me. I knew how to spell “candy” before I knew how to spell “frog.”

Door-to-door politic forums.

I was in a program called Generation Joshua. It’s a Christian program meant to teach kids about politics, and what better way than throwing them right into the action? My first year, we were out in the fresh air going door-to-door, passing flyers and asking questions, and phone banking, and waving signs. It always happened around Halloween, so we were often confused for trick-or-treaters.

Costume searches.

No better time than last minute, which is typically when I begin my search for the perfect Halloween costume. October instantly brings to mind the fact that I’ve let another year go by without planning out my costume (which on the year previous, after haphazardly throwing something together, I vowed to myself I would never do again). Desperately, I come up with the most creative yet easy costume I can think of, then I’m flying through Goodwills again, asking Zombie Employees if they have any red suspenders for sale.

Jeans.

I cannot tell you why I think of jeans during fall. I have a feeling that I was first complimented as looking good in a pair of jeans during the fall season and it stuck with me. So now fall seems to be the time I experiment with jeans. *shrug shrug*

And there you have it! I’m honestly so excited for fall.