The air crisp and breezy, sweater snug on my frame, warmth from my pumpkin spice latte fills my stomach, and it tastes like autumn (yep, I’m calling it autumn, I like the way it sounds). The anticipated season after the sticky hotness of summer but before the dread that is the all-too-consuming cold winter, autumn is the perfect medium and allows people to get the best of both worlds of winter and summer without actually having to experience summer and winter. There are reasons autumn is a lot of people's favorite season. So here’s a short list of my top 5 things that I love about autumn.

1. 'Tis the season of pumpkins! All the pumpkin-flavored things come out of hibernation. Everything pumpkin emerges, Starbucks brings back their pumpkin spice lattes. Dunkin Donuts start baking new pumpkin concoctions as well. Pumpkins are probably the mascot of autumn. Although there are pumpkins, there are also all the other fun autumn flavors like cinnamon, apple, and it’s all warm and savory. I love all the cider and the cider doughnuts. More importantly, I can now start drinking hot chai and hot chocolate and don’t have to sweat.

2. Sweater weather is the best kind of weather. Autumn’s the time when we get to crack out all the light outerwear and sweaters. And basically, everyone looks great in a sweater. I love getting to wear snuggly sweaters that add to my outfit. But I also love having a choice in autumn because it’s warm enough not to have to wear one but just breezy enough at times that you can. As I said before, it’s a perfect medium because bulky jackets aren’t really fun to wear and sweating isn’t either.

3. The overall beauty and aesthetic of fall. For example, the leaves changing colors from green to wonderful shades of red, orange, and yellow. That moment is so beautiful and lovely to witness. It’s one of nature’s finest moments. Also, there’s something about leaves changing colors that makes places feel and look so homely and warm. Autumn’s colors are just so warm and encompassing in a positive way. Lastly, when the leaves start to fall, they’re fun to play with.

4. The holidays: Halloween and Thanksgiving. Halloween and Thanksgiving are some of my favorite holidays. Halloween with its spooks and scares and candy and costumes is just something to look forward to. I adore seeing all the creative costumes and watching the occasional horror flick. Thanksgiving is great because food, and I love any and all excuses to just eat food.

5. Autumn is brimming with activities. You can do anything from apple picking to pumpkin carving. But another activity, which is one my favorites, is watching all my dearly missed fall (saying autumn doesn't flow so well here) TV shows and exploring the new ones. But as a college student, autumn is the start of another school year, which is both exciting and bittersweet.

Slight breezes, oversize sweaters, and leaves changing are some of the many things that make autumn, autumn. Autumn just honestly has a wonderful feel and aesthetic to it that makes things so comfortable and weirdly nostalgic. Overall, it's a good balance of summer and winter that I appreciate. Autumn is definitely the best season, and I await for it to be officially autumn on Sept. 23. Let the countdown begin!