By Dafni Vitsou
The Onion Dip Column is the satire section. All articles are not to be taken seriously.
One of the most interesting aspects of the American youth culture, as far as I am concerned, is the fall “cult”. In Greece, and possibly in many other countries that don’t have the climate you have here in the North-east region, the fall season is much envied, especially by many teenage girls. My sister nearly cried when she saw a picture of F&M taken last October, as if she was looking at a picture of a celebrity that she knew everything about, but was completely aware that she would never be able to meet.
I could not feel the same way at all. I mean, I could get why it is so appealing to many people, but it did not appeal to me. The falls I knew were the olive and grape harvest season, the time when the tourists finally left us alone, and the time when I had to get back into that God-forsaken mousehole the rest of the people called school. I never really liked it but I could not complain either.
When I came here and the autumn started autumning, I finally started noticing the “fall cult” first hand. Bagel breakfasts started featuring pumpkin spice coffee, everyone started wearing their Ugg boots, and many students set up “spooky” decorations in their dorm rooms. Everything started to look like the Pinterest posts that my sister would show me.
I felt a stupid sense of superiority that I was not part of all of this. Then, one rainy Wednesday, at bagel breakfast, I decided to try the pumpkin spice. I added it to my coffee with a certain sense of guilt, almost as if I was shoplifting. I took a sip.
I cannot say I really liked it, but next morning, I found myself holding another cup of this. Then, the other day, I caught myself gazing out of the window at the pretty orange leaves, daydreaming. Then, I went fall hiking. Twice.
The transition happens slowly and smoothly, so it’s pretty hard to realize what’s going on. The thing is, you don’t have to end up looking like one of those “fall-inspo” Instagram posts to become a member of the cult. The non-glam members are actually all around us, they are just more quiet and hesitant to admit it.
I know that many people find it hard to understand the appeal, but hear me out! It doesn’t take much for you to become a member of the “fall cult”. You’ll probably end up joining whether you like it or not.
Freshman Dafni Vitsou is a contributing writer. Her email is dvitsou@fandm.edu.