Fall. Fall looks good. But why does fall look good? It's got to be the colors, right? All of the oranges, yellows, reds and all other assorted warm colors have to be it. I wish there was something that somehow represented every single great fall color. Oh wait, there is something. From blessed Gaia’s bosom, we have the almighty leaf.
Leaves; leaves growing on the tops of the illustrious pines and oaks that litter our world-- beautiful leaves. Leaves have given us so many amazing things as time has marched on like a soldier going to receive his medal of honor, full of dignity and valor.
When they all change color, is it not the most beautiful thing on the earth? It’s so earnest and pure, so unbelievably surreal and serine. We get to really experience the true pallet of the fall in leaves. But what else have leaves given us?
Leaves have given us some of the best jokes that mankind has ever uttered. For example, when you want some to get the heck out of your circle you tell them, “Hey, make like a banana and leave!” You see, the joke is that the leaves on a banana tree excrete this oily substance (used in a lot of cosmetic products) and you want them to slide on out of wherever you are. It’s also why banana peels are infamously slippery.
We also have the infamous “leaf peepers”. These are the people who come around from states where they don’t have leaves and look at all of the illustrious colors that ours have. They treat the leaves almost as if they are amusement park rides or some form of circus, and it’s wonderful! They are in absolutely no way a hindrance or an annoyance.
And oh the fun you can have with leaves. You can spend an entire day organizing leaves by color, shape, and size! At the end of the day, you can challenge your friends to one on one leaf battles via the LeafStormer Pro App! Who has the best leaves?! How else would you have maximum fun with your friends? Record your leaf battles and upload them to YouTube! Become an internet superstar! Make sure you get your parent’s credit card though-- you want to win don’t you?
And if you’re feeling more wild and crazy, you can pile them all up and jump on in! Watch them fly all around as your powerful form absolutely literally explodes them. When you’re done jumping in them, you can go get a lighter (your parents keep them in the garage near the grill, maybe even in the kitchen) and have a great bonfire night. You can tell scary stories, thin gin and just have a great relaxing fall night. Cool breeze, gigantic flaming inferno, people who you’re associated with purely due to your proximity and general interest.
Enjoy the fall! Enjoy the beauty of the temporary! Enjoy it because it always goes away eventually! Now, where did I leaf that rake?!
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1. For all of the endless hugs and kisses you always seem to smother me in.
2. For teaching me how to cuddle and being the best cuddle buddy still to this day.
3. For teaching me some of the best "mom dance moves"
4. For pushing through all of the sleepless nights and still being super mom.
5. For not killing me every time you found me cutting my own bangs.
6. For showing me all the classics and helping me develop a good taste in movies.
7. And for watching the ridiculous reality TV shows with me because no one else will.
8. For helping me with all of that awful homework that even you couldn't understand.
9 For giving us a taste of our own medicine when we needed it.
10. For setting my curfew at a reasonable hour to ensure I didn't get into any mischief. (I was still able to accomplish a little mayhem though)
11. For spoiling me as a little girl but making me do chores as I got older. I now understand the point of having a clean house.
12. For being the best host to all of the weird friends I would bring over.
13. And for standing up for me when those weird friends stabbed me in the back.
14. For listening when I needed to vent and always giving the best advice possible.
15. For being the absolute best cook. No arguments there.
16. For answering every single phone call and the millions of questions that I always have.
17. For letting me form my own identity and encouraging me along the way.
18. For going on shopping dates with me and always telling me your honest opinion.
19. For rolling the windows down and singing along to the music with me.
20. And for being the best mom possible. I love you!
1) Hot showers
Anything with steam. The bathroom in my apartment has a built-in vent system when you flip on the light. However, this isn’t very helpful when you’re congested and you’re trying to use the steam so that you can breathe again. There are two options; 1) you can keep off the lights and use the flashlight on your phone to light the bathroom or 2) you can boil water in a pot, remove it from the heat, cover your head with a towel, and inhale. It looks really weird and you have to be careful not to burn your face on the steam, but it helps clear out some congestion.
2) Over-the-counter medicine.
Vitamins, supplements, Airborne, Mucinex, Dayquil, Nyquil (for bedtime), all of it. When self-medicating you have to make sure that you’re not taking too much of one type of medicine. Use Google to make sure your meds are compatible. Also, read all of the directions; you don’t want to accidentally take too much of something. If you’re feeling nauseous, eat peppermints.
3) Honey.
Honey is a natural healing-agent. If you have a sore-throat you can coat it with the honey. Raw-honey is the most effective type when trying to make yourself feel better. Also, honey in tea is amazing.
4) Tea.
You’ll feel like a damn Brit. (lol, JK love those Brits!) Actually, though, chamomile tea is really good, there're types of tea that help promote relaxation (I love those). You can brew up some tea, put honey in it and it tastes sooooooo yummy! It also helps you sweat out the sickness, stay hydrated, and the steam from the cup helps congestion. Same thing goes for soup, plus it tastes delicious.
5) The expensive tissues.
Yes, it's tempting to buy the super cheap tissues because college kids are poor, but when you’re going to be blowing your nose 80,000,000 times a day, splurging a bit for comfort is the best option.
6) Vicks.
Do you know how many ways you can use Vicks chest rub (or the rip-off brand) to help yourself get better? It’s insane how many places this stuff helps! For a congestion, under the nose clears that out. A cough, putting Vicks on your chest helps you breathe easier. For a sore-throat, you can rub it on your neck and throat and it’ll ease the pain. The weirdest, but best, place to put Vicks is on your feet. It will cause you to sweat. It’ll make the fuzzy stuff from socks stick to you, but it works so well!
7) Rest and avoid alcohol.
I know, rest is hard because we have so much work to do but take an hour long break every once in a while, go to bed at midnight instead of 3, avoid partying. It sucks if you like parties and want to go out, but your body will thank you and you will feel better with the weekend off!
8) Call your mom.
I’m pretty sure this is advice that I give in everything that I do. My mom is a major supporter of me though, and I do call her a lot. She took care of me for my entire childhood, she took care of my sister too. Mom’s have life experience and just know how to help their children if they can. Even though my mom isn’t anywhere near my school, when I’m sick she comforts me and makes sure I’m doing everything possible to feel better, because she’s my mom and that’s what moms do.
9) Go to the doctor.
If you think you really have to. Personally, I avoid doctors on campus, I try to avoid them at home too. I’d much rather take care of myself with honey and over-the-counter stuff but to each their own.
In college, it takes 0.0000002 seconds to catch a sickness that can put you out of the running for a really long time if you don’t take care of it. When I do all of the things listed, except go to the doctor, it takes me about a week or week and a half to fully recover. Best of luck avoiding the on-campus plague, the odds are not in your favor.
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