100 and Under
Eternal Autumnal Magic
100 and Under Fall Competition
“Ahhhh. Fall,” you say as you take an inhale while you walk down your street. Something is different this time of year. There is a special kind of magic that comes with the changing of the leaves.
The air has a quality to it that words cannot describe. There emerges a nip in the air, but it’s not vicious like old man winters’ breath. It’s a gentle reminder to take life a little slower and bundle up. Go for a walk in the forest and listen to the rustling of the leaves under your feet. You hear the wind whistling through the trees. Some are barren and some are full of beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges. And suddenly, you realize that this moment is fleeting.
The fact hits you that, in a few weeks, the trees will be barren except for those old persevering pines that last every winter.
As the autumn opens, evenings at the beach are replaced with sunset walks to the coffee shop after work. I order my hot drink of choice. I order a tea, and I never drink tea, but somehow the aroma mixes perfectly with the aroma of the dying leaves. It must be one of those magical, autumnal things.
I sit down in the corner and start to shed my layers- first, my small backpack, followed by my jacket and muted orange seasonal scarf. I take my watch off and dig into my bag to bring out the book I’m reading. I usually only read non-fiction or philosophy, except in the fall. In the fall, I explore fiction. I let myself escape into the grandeur of the illusion that next year, I might just take a train to Lisbon. But that year never comes. The idea dies as quickly as fall seems to fade into winter.
Spring is known as the time of new beginnings. But I believe each beginning sprouts from somewhere. This magical somewhere, or sometime rather, is the Fall.
For example, the Fall is that time of year where students begin their University life.
The honeymoon phase wears off. You start to develop your little eccentricities. Maybe you go to the library more often, now, instead of partying with your friends. Maybe you meet some new friends, instead of staying with your roommate all the time. Just as in nature, the fall is the perfect time to lay seeds for a new beginning in hopes for a new cycle to emerge, and with it, to grow into a more authentic, connected version of yourself.
For those upper-classmen, the Fall is that time of year where you meet with old friends. Maybe it’s your last year at University, and you’re all wrapped up in trying to figure out all of the plans and things you can accomplish once you leave.
But those moments are always a little bittersweet- you feel hopeful in the future, yet you’re caught in the past, forever oscillating in the present.
Once again, nature supplies us with the answer to that problem. Like the wise old trees, you need to shed your leaves to get through to the next season.
The crisp, cool fall air reminds me of late nights after rehearsals. It reminds me of hanging out in the parking lot after a rehearsal has ended and the theater shuts down, and all the parking lot drinks that entailed. It reminds me of the way the breeze runs through campus, and on its breath, would carry the smell of perfume and fallen leaves.
It was as if the earth was heaving a sigh of relief.
Another cycle is complete. We are still here.
