Tis' the Season :)

This is my first paper of the school year. Thats right, I've only been in school for 3 weeks...maybe four and i've already had a paper due, I've taken 6 quizzes, 1 exam, have had a couple of hours of homework every night, been called as seminary class president, gone to a couple of tennis tournament things, I go to all of my church activities, and I'm learning how to drive. I have been stretched to my limit. Thats how fall always is, busy and stressful. Despite that fact, fall is actually my favorite season, which is why I wrote my first paper of the school year about it. I hope you enjoy a couple of my memories that I have of fall :)



Autumn in Las Vegas is honestly just an extension of summer. The cacti and tumbleweeds don’t change color and pigeons refuse to fly South for the winter, which meant, that when I lived there, I had the stomach wrenching task of cleaning up bird droppings all year round. (Lucky me!) I can’t even remember when wearing a jacket to school was actually necessary. All of these things or rather the fact that I was deprived of ever experiencing a season other than summer, made my first fall in Joplin magical.
The bell rang and a mob of middle school kids burst out of their classrooms and made a mad dash for their lockers. It was pandemonium! Conveniently every student was on the side of the hall that was completely opposite from where their lockers were. The stronger and older students primitively forced others out of their path, while sixth graders put their textbooks in front of their faces and walked slowly through the mob of students hoping to avoid collisions. Everyone was anxious to leave the school and go home to play video games or spend hours on the phone with friends discussing there most recent crush. (Yep, if there was one thing every student was good at it was making sure their brains were empty for the next day of school.) Well, everyone besides me. I wasn‘t in a rush. I had just moved to Joplin a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t have any friends to go talk to. Nor, did I have parents waiting outside to pick me up. (Both of my parents were teachers and my house was only a mile away. Put two and two together and I was the perfect candidate for that “privileged” group of students who got to walk home.)
Eventually, everything but the stench of seventh hour’s gym class and the echoes of squeaky shoes had cleared the halls. This was when I would make my escape. I hastened to my locker, threw in my textbooks and got out of the middle school’s oppressive walls faster than a nerdy kid can solve a math problem.
When I stepped outside the school, I was bombarded by exquisite senses. Panting, from sprinting out of the school building, I stopped to catch my breath, and breathed in clean air. After a day of walking through Axe fumes and boys who were going for a man’s natural odor, I cherished the brisk cold oxygen that reached my lungs. I took another deep breath and closed my eyes only to feel Jack Frost nipping at my now rosy cheeks. When I opened my eyes, I opened them to a world of vibrant color. Mango and crimson leaves cascaded down from balding trees across the street, covering the local lawns. The blue translucent sky took a supporting role to the bold colors of the leaves and created the perfect screen saver.
Although I never left that state of wonder and adoration, I did recall myself back to reality when I began to shiver. I pulled on my jacket and headed senses first into this new realm which I had already fallen in love with.
The brittle leaves crunched beneath my shoes as I walked home that day giving purpose to my walk and allowed me to strut confidently to my house. My mind was not on homework, neither was it filled with sadness from the move. Instead, I felt the spirit that kind of scene inspires. In that moment I was an artist capturing details that would help recreate the scene in my mind.
I silently wished that all year long could be this way, but alas seasons come and seasons change. And to my disappointment fall disappeared just as soon as it had come.
I am now a junior in high school and although I live too far away to walk home and relive my first fall, I constantly watch for sneak previews that tell me my favorite season is right around the corner.
I recently experienced one of these “sneak previews” at a friend’s slumber party. It was a typical all girls party. It was loud, fun, and filled with talk of boys. We played games and watched “The Office” and a couple of the girls even reenacted Twilight. It was hard not to burst out laughing when the actresses had to profess their love for each other! The hot tamale sugar rush, we were on, could only last so long, though, and eventually all of the party goers passed out amidst the popcorn and pillows on the floor of Rachel’s bedroom.
Ten hours later, my friends and I were back to partying. We were jumping on the trampoline teasing each other about our bed head and non made-up selves when I breathed in the brisk morning air and smelled fall. My favorite season was almost here! I was exuberant!
Although fall hasn’t changed since my first experience of it in seventh grade, it now takes on a deeper meaning. Now when I picture fall I think of much more than the beautiful scenery or walking home amongst the crunch of leaves. Rather I remember and anticipate spending Friday nights at football games where my friends and I cheered as if the number of touchdowns scored by the Joplin eagles depended on us. I recall all the times my friends and I lost our voices from trying to be louder than the cheerleaders at those games. I think of all the cute sweaters that I will be able to wear as the chilly weather sets in. I picture spending nights with my family drinking the kind of hot chocolate that is always watery no matter how much chocolate mix you put in it. I think of my September birthday and ponder the fact that I will be driving in less than a month. And I pause to wonder if the residents of Las Vegas know what they are missing.
People often comment that I must hate living in Joplin when I tell them I was raised in Las Vegas. To this comment I have only one reply: Cacti can look pretty and heat may prevent a person from getting the flu, but I would never go back to a Vegas summer after experiencing a Missouri fall.


I hope you all enjoy this magical season :)

<3 Taysom