10 Reasons To Love Fall At UF

Although summer may be the season of bikinis, vacations, and barbecues, I’ve got my eye on something a little bit cooler. Literally. It’s just around the corner, and with it comes our beloved pumpkin spiced lattes, our bonfires, and our over sized sweaters. It’s a beautiful, beautiful time. Fall! Keep reading for 10 reasons to love fall at UF!

1. Bring out the pigskin!

Football season is back. And what I mean by that is tailgate season is back. Saturday’s have their rightful purpose back again. Sunday’s are back to being Funday’s. Weekdays are consumed with watch parties. And our relationships are tested as rivalries are resurrected. Get ready for grilling, drinking, chanting, and cheering because football is BACK, ladies and gentlemen.

2. A time without sweat.

Although it seems impossible that nice weather is upon us after spending the whole summer walking around in a bath of our own sweat, fall at UF does mean the temperatures begin dropping. Just imagine walking outside and not feeling like you’re being choked by the Human Torch himself…

3. Sweaters, flannels, and boots, oh my.

Ladies, our favorite attire is ready to emerge from the depths of our closets and make its long awaited appearance. Those chunky sweaters will make you consistently feel like your enshrined in a wonderful cloud of soft, cool, happiness. The high socks, tall boots, and jeans look means no one will know that you haven’t repainted your toes in weeks or that you’ve secretly been participating in No Shave November (No Shave, No Shame, right?).

4. The Starbucks addiction is finally validated.

We can all stop pretending that our obsession with Starbucks ended when the weather warmed up again. Coffee, hot chocolate, refreshers, and tea still fueled our daily activities over the past few months, but now we completely have an excuse for it–we have to warm ourselves up. If this isn’t a good enough excuse…the Pumpkin Spiced Latte is back!

5. This is Halloween, Halloween! Halloween!

It’s our excuse to dress up ridiculously, eat way too much candy (summer body is long gone), and attend every party we can find. I mean, where else can you find a cat, a nurse, and a flamingo all in one place? And if this wasn’t enough to convince you, the 13 Nights of Halloween and all those movies are here to entertain us yet again.

6. RIP to that summer body.

The most beautiful, amazing, inspiring part of this season…the food. Just think, Thanksgiving. Pumpkin flavored everything, hot apple cider, pies of any flavor, potatoes in a hundred different forms, gravy on everything, casseroles to warm your soul, rolls and biscuits drenched in butter, stuffing that could create world peace, vegetables to make us think we’re healthy, and a million other mouth watering foods. Everything ends up covered in gravy, butter, or whip cream, anyway. Paula Dean would be proud.

7. A (justified) week of no responsibilities.

This season brings a wonderful little week long break for students. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a week of no deadlines, no papers, no classes, no tests, and no need to do anything but eat all that delicious Thanksgiving food and relax in your over sized sweater hiding your new food-baby with all of your close family and friends. Fall break is truly a hidden gem among students.

8. Festive fall foliage comes alive.

I will never understand why the fall foliage is so exciting, but hearing leaves crunch as I walk and being surrounded by orange and yellow nature just warms my soul.

9. Revive your childhood dreams.

Fall at UF provides a surprising amount of childlike, innocent fun. We get to play in pumpkin patches, get lost in corn mazes, go trick-or-treating, and explore fall carnivals. We’re all allowed to act like complete children and not a single person is mad about it.

10. Brace yourselves… winter is coming.

Fall is filled with happiness, cool weather, and childlike fun. But it really just means we are that much closer to winter. The season of holidays, presents, long breaks, hot chocolate, bonfires, and the new year. What more could you ask for?