Once a year, people all across the nation, and in some other countries, head out to pumpkin patches to enjoy the hay rides, the haunted houses, and to find the perfect pumpkin. This fall, remember this advice when visiting the patch.

1. You have to search, you can’t just settle.

If you go to a pumpkin patch and just pick the first one you see, it doesn’t seem worth it to go to the patch. You can just go to the grocery store and grab a cheap pumpkin. No, the point of going to a pumpkin patch is to enjoy the journey of finding the perfect one. In life, you have to enjoy the journey. So look up and down the rows, underneath the piles of pumpkins and within every bin. Don’t settle on a pumpkin that isn’t the one. The perfect pumpkin is worth the wait.

2. Find the well-rounded ones.

When you are looking for a pumpkin to carve, the round ones are great. They make great faces and work for any design! Just like pumpkins, work on being the best well-rounded person that you can be! It is always good to try and be the smartest, kindest, healthiest, and best overall person that you can be.

3. Appreciate unique-ness.

Every pumpkin is different. They can be big or small, round or flat, dirty or clean, lumpy or speckled, white or orange. There are so many different pumpkins that we have to remember to appreciate every uniqueness in them. Each person is the same as the pumpkins. We are all so different that we have to remember to respect everyone. Pumpkins look different but that doesn’t make them any less than the other pumpkins.

4. Be inspired.

Sometimes you have an idea in your head when you are looking for a pumpkin and sometimes you don’t. Either way, you let the pumpkin inspire you. Then you prepare and plan for this design because you only get one shot. You have plenty of shots in life, but that doesn’t mean you treat them any differently. You plan and prepare for every opportunity, whether worked for or randomly found. Within that, you let yourself be inspired. So treat every opportunity like a perfect new pumpkin.

5. Go with friends and loved ones.

The best way to spend the day at a pumpkin patch is with people you love. Friends and family make the event fun and filled with laughter and memories. Going solo is okay too sometimes, but the more the merrier. Throughout life, you will be alone and you will have to be independent. Regardless, spending your time with people is usually better.