Why Fall is My Favorite Season

As long as I can remember, fall by far been my favorite season. Firstly, the falling leaves are always a great sight to see, especially in more wooded areas. Starting at around mid fall when the leaves are really piling up I blow the leaves for $10 an hour, making the time very profitable. I also really like the weather in the fall, when the temperature is a comfortable 60 out and there is a nice cool breeze. 

  

Fall is also a time where I have a lot of memories. Both my mother and I were both born in October, making the season more eventful than others.  My mother and I also go to a farm for pumpkin picking every year, where we usually get some cider and donuts. Afterwords, we go home and figure out how we want to cave our pumpkins. Then we clean out our pumpkins and my mom starts to get the seeds from the pumpkins. After that, she cleans the seeds off and puts them on a tray. Lastly, she puts salt on them and cook them in the oven. 

I would say that one of my favorite parts of fall is that the school year has just started. This means that you get a new opportunity to make an impression on your teachers and peers. It also means that the school work is probably going to be easier than it is in spring, as we are just setting into our classes. Lastly, I enjoy the fact that fall weather allows for a lot of wardrobe flexibility, allowing both summer and winter apparel to be comfortable.

My Favorite "Season"

          Everybody loves Summer, Spring, Fall, and sometimes Winter, but my favorite season, is Football Season. Starting in early September, this season is full of fun, excitement, and zealous fans smashing their TVs over a bad play. With my favorite team being the New York Giants, this happens more than occasionally. Don't get me wrong, the Giants are a decent team having won 2 Lombardi Trophies within the past 10 years, but recently they have been playing like they belong in the Puppy Bowl. My family and I are die hard Giants fans, but they are just getting hard to watch. Last year they barely managed a 3-13 season. The worst in Giants history by far. However, being the 2nd worst team in the league, (next to none other then the Cleveland Browns), the Giants would get the 2nd overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. The Giants would go on to select Penn. State phenom running back, Saquon Barkley, (probably the best decision they made all year, next to releasing head coach Ben McAdoo). After Pat Shurmur took over as head coach, and with the return of Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard, the Giants would look like they were heading into an outstanding season. Or so we all thought.

     
          After managing a decent pre-season, the Giants would face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a good team with an outstanding defense. Unfortunately on opening week, after a long game, the Giants would receive a tough loss of 20 - 15 in the final. They played fairly well, and considering their intense week 1 match-up, Giants fans still had high hopes for the season. Well, until week 2 came. During week 2, the Giants would face their division rivals to the south, the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys also coming from a bad loss, gave Giants fans higher expectations, expectations that would not be fulfilled. The Giants could barely get a first down through the entire course of the game, after the Cowboys obtained a 3 possession lead late in the 4th quarter, the Giants finally started to play with 5 minutes remaining. With a desperate last minute attempt, the Giants would concede a devastating 20 -13 loss which would push them to last place in the NFC East.

          Finally, after Giants fans everywhere started to lose faith in their once proud team, the Houston Texans traveled to East Rutherford, New Jersey for their week 3 match-up against the 0-2 New York, Giants. This game would hopefully be the turning point for the Giant's, so far, disappointing season, and it was. The Texans were stopped halfway down on opening drive and were forced to settle for a field goal. They would hand the possession over to the Giants where they would march down the field and score a Saquon Barkley touchdown, to obtain the first lead they've had all season. After that, the Giants doubled, then tripled their score, and even with a last second gain of 13 points in the 4th quarter by the Texans, it still was not enough to overcome the Giants 3 possession lead. The game would end 27 - 22 restoring my faith in the team I grew up with. The team I watched win 2 Lombardi trophies against the infamous New England, Patriots. The team that I always routed for.




          Now here we are, the Giants are 1-2, and my faith is still sturdy. Today they are up against my second favorite team, the New Orleans, Saints. A challenging adversary. Nevertheless, I have no doubt the Giants will play to the best of their ability, well maybe a little. Now that fall is underway, there will be games every week. Games that I'll heed with pride, and games that I'll watch through my fingers. Either way, I won't miss a Giants game, it's impossible.

Fallen Leaves

Fallen Leaves

by, Jenna Marie

*Forgive my voice. It's no Grammy Award winner I know (there's a reason I'm a violinist and not a part of a choir), but I thought the lyrics had to be put to music to really appreciate it. Also, please note that there are many out of tune notes and the background music was a last minute composition, so it's not exactly perfect nor professional recording material (I am very sorry for any mistakes that may have occurred. They're still kind of bothering me, not going to lie, but it was so painstaking to record and I/'m too lazy to do it again, so here goes)*

The leaves are gold this time of year

There’s nothing dark, nothing to fear

My mental walls are broken down

Before I know it I’m prepped to drown

‘Cause the leaves are bound to fall eventually

And when they fall they leave you cold and bare

With each drop feelings are freed from me

This time I’ll build my walls stronger I swear

But the leaves are gold this time of year

And there’s nothing dark, nothing to fear

I hang onto this golden rope

I hang on until I choke

For the leaves are bound to fall eventually

And when they fall they leave you cold and bare

Forevermore I shall be free

No more cycles of endless despair

For I’ve been fooled time and time again

That autumn will not ever end

But every time I’ve come to hold it dear

The leaves all fall and winter’s here

Well the leaves are gold this time of year

But there’s something dark, something to fear

For the leaves will fall down after all

I can’t trust them anymore

Rain by Robert Scott

    I'm looking out my window right now.  The sky is gray, the grass is slick with rain, and it's at that weird temperature where you can be hot and cold at the same time.  Fall.  What happened to the whole "April showers bring May flowers" deal?  Did all of that rain just decide to move a few months to now?  I thought fall was all about that cool, crisp air, with leaves falling off the trees in the wind.  Instead I'm wondering whether or not I've been transported to Seattle without my knowledge.  The weather has been in this state for a while as well, taking up most of September at my estimate.  Then again, I don't posses the greatest of memories, so it could really have only been this way for about a week and I'll think it has been raining for a month.  Either way, I'm hoping it'll start to dry up soon, as this constant rain and humidity is just depressing.

    Is it like this every year? I really can't remember, I've never thought about it before.  The summer had its fair share of rainy days as well, though it also had its fill of sunny, warm, classic summer days.  I don't mean to pick on rain too much though, as a rainy day here and there isn't bad at all.  Lately, however, it's been a bit excessive in my opinion.  All I see on the weather forecasts are those little cloud blips with water spouting out from under them.  Can't we throw in some regular clouds in there, maybe even the one where the sun is barely popping out of the clouds? (Though I don't mean to push it).  Only time will tell if that is so, and if the sole thing you see in the upcoming weather is rain, then you can just blame me for upsetting the meteorologist deity or something.
   To whoever keeps performing those rainmaking ceremonies; I think we've had enough.

My Shocking First Experience With a Pumpkin Spice Latte By Chloe Clancy

        For the longest time, I was always super reluctant to try new foods, because of my food allergies. However, this summer, I broke out my shell, and expanded my palette during my summer travels. Surprisingly it was liberating to eat more than just pizza and chicken nuggets. Now, I was finally ready to dive into everyone's favorite Fall craze, the pumpkin spice latte, for the first time. I know what you may be thinking, "You're a teenage girl, how could you not have tried a pumpkin spice latte?" Trust me, I can't wrap my head around it either. I was clean, until last week. 
        It was a sunny Sunday, and I was home all day doing homework. My mom went out to do a couple of errands, and before I knew it, she returned home with two Starbucks cups in her hand. Almost immediately I knew what was in those cups. All over Instagram and Snapchat, they were being advertised. I saw several ads saying, "It's Back!" or "The pumpkin spice latte is finally here!" and just like any guilty consumer looking for adventure, I wanted to try one. Suddenly, I was holding the cup in my hand, and I felt genuinely excited to take a drink. 
        The cup was still warm, after having time to cool during the car ride home. I looked at it for a few moments, bracing myself, and then I took my first sip. Nothing. I took another sip and let it stay on my tongue for a little longer. Still nothing. I waited a couple more seconds, and then it hit me. I would describe this taste as twelve different spices brutally attacking my tongue at once. I hated it. I thought, "This can't be possible, I thought these were so good!" In doubt of my own senses, I took another sip. Then another, and another, and so on. I tried to decipher what I tasted. I thought the pumpkin taste was very faint, and overpowered by what tasted like nutmeg and cinnamon. My mom mentioned that there was whipped cream mixed in the latte, which, unfortunately, I didn't taste at all. 
        I was in denial. With every sip I took, I hated it even more. I like everything that's in a pumpkin spice latte individually, but mixed together, I'm not a fan. I took off the lid and looked inside to see half of a grande pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. It was a disgusting shade of orange, and oils of some sort coated the side of the cup where there wasn't liquid. It was not pretty. I finally came to the realization that I wasn't going to finish, so I gave the rest to my mom. 
        I was just as disappointed as you are right now, reading about how much I hate the world's favorite seasonal latte. I honestly thought I was going to enjoy it, since coffee has a special place in my heart. Now, a week later, when I tell people about my experience, everyone is astonished. I don't think I have met one person who has disliked a pumpkin spice latte. I've found this drink to be extremely over-hyped and advertised. I mean seriously, Starbucks released this drink on August 28th (yes, you read that right), almost a month before the official start of Fall. In the last week of August, everyone's soaking up the last bits of summer, not thinking about pumpkin spice and Halloween. 
        Now, my hatred of the drink could possibly come from the fact that Starbucks doesn't even make the best pumpkin spice latte, and I should have gotten it somewhere else. Honestly, after my experience I have no interest in trying a different one. I'm going to stick with the green tea latte instead. You can quote me on this, the pumpkin spice latte is overrated. 

What I Love About Fall

Whether it's waking up to a crisp autumn morning,

Or maybe getting a little snow without warning,

Fall will always be the best of them all.

Walking down to the bus, listening to the crunch beneath my feet,
The colorful leaves fall looking elegant and sweet,
Finally putting on a sweater,
While the weather slowly gets a little better

Spring may have the flowers,
But you can't forget about the showers,
And that is why fall
Is the best of them all.

Shortest Summer Ever by Lily Loewen

This summer might have been the shortest summer of my life. Last year was extremely stressful, and I needed a long summer to refuel and get ready for sophomore year, but I got just the opposite. Last school year ended June 30, which is normally two weeks already into summer on a normal year. When the summer started, I was so relieved as my first ever high school finals were over, and once summer started I jumped right into my vacation. I had as many sleepovers and hangouts with my friends as I could get because I knew this summer was going to be a short one, but I didn't let that stop me from having a great vacation. In July I spent most of my time with my family in Wildwood Crest where we stay at the beach. We went to the beach as much as we could, but by the end of July the weather started to get really bad with rain and wind. Even in the rain we would still have fun, though. We went fishing and crabbing, we went to the pool, and even on some bad days we would still hang out at the beach. My cousins and I also went to the boardwalk almost ever night which was so fun. But once July ended, and I was back home with my friends in Sparta, volleyball season started. We would have practices every day and a few scrimmages and even a tournament, which our team did very well in and go to the semis. Very quickly I could feel summer settling down and everyone started preparing to go back to school already. I just kept feeling it was too soon, though. I felt like we just got out of school and now we were already coming back.

Finally, the dreadful day came. All the summers before this one I was ready to get back to school, but this one was just so different. There were so many things I wanted to do this summer that I never got to. I wanted to go to the beach with my friends one day, and another time with my cousins. I wanted to go to New York with my friends, also and finally go to the sugar factory. But none of that ever happened. I just needed one more week of summer, but before I knew it I was walking back into school, where I felt like I just left. I wasn't ready for the work, assignments, tests, and quizzes. Once I walked into school, I felt like just yesterday I was taking my last final, and nothing had changed. But now as it is more into fall, I'm getting used to the weather, and school, even though it did take me awhile. Although, in the beginning of fall I was dreading it, now I'm so excited for it. I can't wait to wear jeans, sweaters, and get pumpkin spice lattes, and I love all the football games. I also can't wait for Halloween. So even though this summer went by way too fast, and it was way too short, I'm kind of happy that it is fall time.

Why Fall Is the Best Season By Noah Fischer

Halloween is the best holiday and Fall is the best season, no doubt. Except for school starting, there is nothing bad about Fall. What's not to love about pumpkin spice (basic I know) returning, Fall colors coming back, days getting a little shorter and a little colder? 

You get to wear hoodies all the time again


The leaves turn pretty colors again


You can go to fair grounds and go pumpkin picking, and do corn mazes again



And best of all, it's spooky season once more.

Everything about spooky months (which do start at the end of August) are great. Scary movies are coming out, and there are marathons on TV again. In addition to pumpkin picking, pumpking carving is happening again, you get to decorate your house, and Halloween stores and haunted houses are open again. You get your Halloween costume, which you've been thinking about since November first of last year. Then on Halloween, not only do you get free candy, but it's the one day of the year you get to be anything or anyone except yourself. I am being Spiderman this year, so that's going to be great. For all of those reasons there is no doubt in my mind that Halloween is the best holiday, and Fall is the best season.