Fall

School now seems more "in session" than it was for those first few days when the schedule was off and the freshmen weren't sure if they were on the right floor. Everyone is settling in: our schedules are programmed into our heads and tests loom on the horizon. With these routines comes a new season - one that reminds us with a earlier dusk that it's no longer summer when the days never had to end. Everything seems to matter more because we can't push deadlines and schedules out of our heads without worry. However, there's a positive - at least for some of us. With piles of homework and essays to write come 40 degree mornings and burnt orange leaves.

By October, waking up at six in the morning feels a little extreme and incredibly unrealistic. But in September, I'm awake at six almost by default and the dark blue outside before the sun rises is somehow comforting. When summer is on its last leg and the winds start to pick up, I know my favorite season is well on its way. For a lot of people, it's the foliage that does it. To me, its not so much the scenery as it is the air. The atmosphere seems to change and everything feels clean. Then again, I do start to notice the things that I didn't care about for the past two months. The trees have gotten taller and grass that has been tended to carefully is now turning brown. It seems, ironically, that things are gaining more and more life as September trudges on.

During fall, everything and everyone has somewhere to go. Summer was unstructured and unscheduled, allowing for soft chaos and a simpler life. We have to be in the car on the way to school, in class, at sports practices, at play rehearsal, writing a blog post for English class, and in bed at a reasonable (or not so reasonable) time. Time slows down because most of us don't want it to, and these overwhelming priorities and events don't seem so overwhelming. Fall makes structured time seem less of a daunting concept after the laziness of summer.

When it comes down to the wire, this season's debut in New England is a sight to see. There's a reason for the tourists and the fascination. Our world becomes a warm mix of browns, golds and reds, and the crisp air moves through everything in its path. The foliage brings in a crowd that appreciates the annual colors that we won't see until next year. And while the scenery certainly isn't for everyone, "Lost" from Channel Orange has definitely made the view from the bus window better for me.