Your alarm wakes you up at 7:30 in the morning and — after lying in bed like a potato, contemplating just giving up — you reluctantly slide out of bed and start preparing for the day. You have only one class today, but it starts at 9 a.m. and you want nothing more than to just relax with your best friend, Netflix.

However, you have an exam coming up so you really need to get to class. Plus, the girl that sits next to you is cute and never smells bad.

You check the weather and, for the first time in months, it’s not going to get out of the fifties! What time is it, you ask? Sweatpants time, baby. You slide on some sweats and pull on a t-shirt. You pull out a sweatshirt, brush the cobwebs off, and put it on. It’s bigger than you remember and you think to yourself, “Maybe I lost weight since last spring! I look great, how could anyone resist all of this?”

It’s then that you look in the mirror and notice that your sweatpants and sweatshirt are the same color. You look like an old man about to go to his jazz aerobics class.

You find another pair of sweatpants and make your way to the kitchen, feeling slightly less elderly. You make yourself a bowl of cereal and glance at the clock. You’re running late, as always.

You quickly gather what you need for class and go to your car. Your drive to campus is short, but the only place you can find a parking spot is by Old Main. Your class is in Grove Hall and you now have seven minutes to get there. Great.

As you pass the library, you notice one of the Starbucks baristas putting a sign outside of the doors. On the sign it reads, “It’s back, baby! Pumpkin Spice!” with some pictures of some leaves and pumpkins on it. You’ve been wanting one for months, but you are far too late for class for that.

You somehow make it to class and manage to stay awake for the entire period: the cute girl who sits next to you didn’t show up today, though. “How dare you! I put on deodorant for you and you didn’t even bother to show up?” you think to yourself. Class ends.

“Oh well,” you think to yourself, “at least now I can go back to bed.” You descend the mountain that is the Grove Hall staircase and head outside when you notice how nice the weather is today.

You see some puffy, white clouds above—enough to provide very occasional shade, yet not enough to darken the sky. You feel the cool and crisp of the air—take a big, deep breath and feel the breeze run through your sweatshirt. Not quite chilly and not quite warm. It is perfect.

As you walk through the quad you notice that something is different, but looking around, you notice the same things as usual: the grass, half-trampled by Frisbee fanatics; the sculptures, majestic rocks stacked on other rocks; the chairs, arranged in half circles for the English lit buffs and lax-bros.

It is then that you notice that the trees that stand outside of the fishbowl have acquired a reddish tint. You turn and see the rustling of the orange leaves on the tree in front of Shippen Hall, which makes it appear as though it is engulfed in flame.

You continue walking between Rowland Hall and the Huber Art Center and over to the sidewalk next to Old Main. The fountain is on and the water is shining with the light coming through the trees. The fountain is set in front of an orange and yellow backdrop. Quickly, you decide to walk up and take in the scenery of the old campus.

A large gust of wind blows, rustling your sweatshirt and messing up your hair. Just then you are surrounded by a downpour of red and orange leaves. Some of them drop to your feet while others settle in the rippling water of the fountain.

Looking at your distorted reflection in the water, you pull a penny out of your pocket and ball up your hand. You place the penny on your thumb and index finger, close your eyes, and flick the penny into the fountain.

It is in opening your eyes that you realize that your wish has already come true. It is fall at last.

Share