It’s officially fall!

I’ve been waiting for this.

My season has arrived.

The second fall arrives, I become super basic. You know the type – Uggs, pumpkin spice everything, apple cinnamon candles.

But what can I say?

I am a true fall baby. I was born in October, the best month, which means this season is basically my natural habitat.

Because it’s finally my time to thrive, here are the top 10 reasons fall is the best season. You might prefer other seasons, but hey, I support other people’s incorrect opinions.

1. The Weather Finally Stops Trying to Kill Me

Don’t get me wrong.

I love summer.

We get beaches, vacations, no school, long days, etc.

And then you walk outside and the air punches you directly in the face. You take three steps and you’re sweating in places you didn’t know you could sweat. Your thighs briefly touch a leather seat and you briefly meet God.

Yeah.

No thanks.

Fall weather, however?

Elite.

Cool enough that I can walk outside without immediately regretting it, but not cold enough that the wind hurts my feelings.

Give me 55-70 degrees.

Give me hoodie weather.

Give me a slight breeze.

2. Sweater Weather

Summer clothes require you to consider one major question:

How little fabric can I tolerate while still being legally dressed?

Fall?

Fall gives us layers.

It gives us sweaters, cardigans, boots, leggings, hoodies.

There’s no confidence boost like putting on a cute sweater and suddenly feeling like you have your life together.

Do I know where my phone is right now?

No.

Have I checked my emails lately?

Absolutely not.

Do I look like I could solve a murder in a small New England town because I’m wearing a comfy wine-colored sweater?

Yes.

That’s what matters.

Fall clothes let you be cozy without looking like you gave up.

This is critical.

3. Fall Drinks Are Elite

Pumpkin spice lattes.

Chai.

Apple cider.

Caramel apple cider.

Salted caramel everything.

Maple everything.

Cinnamon everything.

Hot chocolate.

Warm drinks in cute mugs.

If my drink doesn’t taste like somebody detonated a candle aisle at Target and sprinkled cinnamon over it, I don’t want it.

(No, I’m not ashamed of my love for pumpkin spice. Judge me all you want. I don’t care that you think it’s overrated.)

4. Fall Food. Period.

Fall food is ridiculously amazing.

We get:

• apple pie
• pumpkin bread
• cinnamon rolls
• soup
• chili (ugh, I could totally go for chili right now)
• cider donuts
• caramel apples
• anything involving brown sugar
• anything involving cinnamon
• anything baked in a dish heavy enough to double as a weapon

Now, can you eat these things during any other season?

Of course.

All of these just hit different when you eat them between September and early December.

And let’s not forget Thanksgiving for my American (and Canadian) readers.

Thanksgiving is essentially the Super Bowl of side dishes.

I mean, the turkey is there, too…I guess.

But everything else on that table?

Chef’s kiss.

5. The Fall Activities

No other season says, “Let’s pay $30 to go to a farm and walk through dirt.”

And yet?

I will.

I love all of the stereotypical fall activities.

• apple picking
• pumpkin patches
• hayrides
• fall festivals
• corn mazes
• watching football (go Eagles!)
• bookstore trips
• walking through parks just to stare at leaves
• watching spooky movies and screaming
• taking a billion pictures of the same tree because the lighting changed slightly

Obviously I have seen trees and leaves before, but when the leaves really start changing, I suddenly become a naturalist encountering fall foliage for the first time.

There is also something extremely wholesome about fall activities until haunted season kicks in and suddenly someone is chasing you through a field with a chainsaw.

Range.

Autumn has range.

6. The Aesthetic Is Unmatched

Fall knows how to decorate.

Summer gives you green.

Winter gives you mostly gray and occasionally snow.

Spring gives you flowers.

Beautiful.

Lovely.

Fall, on the other hand, is dressed in burgundy, gold, forest green, brown, cream, and deep red.

Everywhere suddenly looks like a Pinterest board.

Porches covered in pumpkins.

The changing colors of the leaves.

Candles are everywhere.

Bookstores, especially smaller/indie bookstores, suddenly become ten times cozier.

Even gloomy weather gets romantic.

Rain in July?

Annoying.

Rain in October?

Now the weather has atmosphere.

7. It Is the PERFECT Reading Season

This might be the most important point.

Reading in the fall just feels better.

You can’t convince me otherwise.

A book, a heated blanket, hot coffee, and rain against the window?

That’s peak right there.

And fall books hit differently.

Dark academia.

Gothic fiction.

Fantasy.

Mysteries.

Spooky books.

Secret societies.

Historical fiction.

Give them to me.

The minute September ends, I start wanting every book to involve a mysterious old school or a manor and at least one person who is clearly keeping secrets.

8. The Nostalgia Hits Hard and Entertainment Gets Better

Fall is weirdly nostalgic.

There’s something about the season that makes me want to revisit things I loved years ago.

Old TV shows.

Comfort movies.

Childhood Halloween specials.

Suddenly I want to rewatch entire shows from the beginning like I have unlimited free time and absolutely no responsibilities.

And honestly?

Fall is perfect for that.

Cooler weather makes staying inside feel intentional instead of antisocial.

You’re not avoiding plans.

You’re participating in seasonal enrichment.

Fall is also when I want shows with supernatural weirdness, complicated relationships, monsters, magic, morally questionable hot people, and at least one character who desperately needs therapy.

Basically, it’s Buffy season.

And then the movies?

Anything that makes me want to turn off the lights, light a candle, and pretend I’m participating in some elaborate seasonal ritual instead of sitting on my couch eating snacks.

Then it’s back-to-school season.

I work in a school and therefore know firsthand that back-to-school time is significantly less magical when you’re one of the adults. But I still love the feeling of new notebooks. Fresh pens. New routines.

Maybe it’s just me but autumn seems to carry memories differently. Maybe it is because every year it feels familiar while still feeling new. Or maybe nostalgia just thrives when the lighting gets moodier. Either way, fall makes me want to revisit aspects of an earlier version of me.

And Sunnydale, California.

9. Halloween

Halloween does get its own reason.

Costumes.

Candy.

Pumpkins.

Ghost stories.

Hocus Pocus.

Halloween has incredible range.

You can go full horror – blood, demons, ghosts, possession, someone crawling backward down a hallway.

Absolutely not for me, but I respect your journey.

Or you can choose cozy Halloween.

Cute little ghosts.

Black cats.

A candle called something like “Moonlit Graveyard.”

I like spooky stuff (that old show Scariest Places on Earth was my jam when I was younger and braver than I am now) but with boundaries. I’d like to be able to sleep after whatever I experience.

Halloween gives us one of my favorite annual sights:

Children in costumes taking Trick-or-Treat extremely seriously.

There’s nothing better than opening your door to find a tiny Spider-Man silently holding out a pumpkin bucket like this is a corporate building transaction.

Understandable.

Get your candy, sir.

10. The End-of-Year Reset

People constantly talk about New Year’s resolutions, but I think fall can be a real reset as well.

By September and October, enough of the year has passed that you actually know what is working and what is not.

Look, January Ashley had plans.

Some of them worked.

Some of them got lost around March.

Some of them never saw the light of day.

But now, the school year has started again, the weather changes, routines shift, and the year suddenly feels finite.

Fall gives me a chance to look at the year and go: “Okay. We’ve got a few months left. What the hell are we doing with them?”

The end-of-year reset is less about transformation and more about coming back to yourself.

With a seasonal beverage.

Obviously.

So Yes, Autumn Wins

I respect the other seasons.

Mostly.

Spring is pretty.

Winter has Christmas.

Summer has beach season.

But fall?

Fall is elite.

We have:

• beautiful weather
• great food
• superior drinks
• the best clothes
• books
• candles
• crunchy leaves
• fall activities
• spooky movies
• nostalgia
• Halloween
• my birthday (just saying)

Yup, I’m ready for autumn.

Complete with an unreasonable TBR, several beverages on my mental wishlist, plans involving pumpkins, at least one nostalgic rewatch waiting to happen, and the confidence of a woman whose natural habitat has been returned to her.

The trees are becoming red, yellow, and orange.

Halloween is coming.

Libra season is upon us.

And I have 3 months to finish everything I said I was gonna do this year.

Naturally, I’m going to make a cup of pumpkin spiced coffee and rewatch something from 2003 first.

Happy autumn.