An Over-Aesthetic Autumn: DO We romanticize it?

Image C/O GaelAlumni Instagram Page

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By Emily Brazeal
Opinion Columnist

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​Fall is almost upon us. That’s right, the season of pumpkin spice lattes, Gilmore Girls and crunchy leaves has returned once again. A time where we cater our Spotify playlist to act as if we were the main character of a John Hughes movie. We aestheticize everything from our drinks to our clothing and even our academics. As fun as that can be in reality–life isn’t a Pinterest board.

Although we romanticize this season, it proves to be a very taxing one. Starting rigorous classes, juggling extracurriculars,  and new potentially stressful social situations all pile up. Midterms loom over us for the whole of October. This stress is not uncommon, as about 1 in 3 students report being anxious about returning to school. In fact, the U.S. is reported to have the most stressed students. For many of us autumn beckons the return of the academic stress and long hours of trying not to fall asleep in the library. Yet Americans overwhelmingly choose autumn as their favorite season and it is chronically romanticized year after year on every social media platform. In fact, our overwhelming classes are one of the main things we aestheticize. We pretend as if our all-nighters are fall-esque instead of completely frustrating.    

In all autumn’s beauty, this is also the time when seasonal depression returns. The most common type of seasonal depression is fall-onset, beginning in autumn and persisting through winter. As the cool weather begins to creep in symptoms like fatigue, feelings of hopelessness and oversleeping take over. This is not the reality of mini pumpkins and platform uggs that is portrayed on my Pinterest feed.

So what is the reason? Are we so delusional to reality that we prioritize pumpkin spice over mental health? Is it because we are so stressed that we desperately need to aestheticize this season to stop ourselves from going crazy? Or do we simply like stepping on crunchy leaves? I don’t fully know why fall becomes an over-romanticized season. Everyone's reason is different, but maybe in the end it’s just because it’s fun to do. 

However, this over-romanticizing can overshadow the very real stress and depression that come with the change of season. We end up comparing our social media feeds of scented candles and apple picking when really we should be checking up on each other. Maybe check in on yourself. 

I’m not telling you to stop romanticizing autumn. I love spiced coffee, “cute” study sessions, and getting mad at Rory Gilmore. But maybe we should pause for a second in this stressful season to check in on ourselves and others. Then we can go buy ourselves a pumpkin spice latte.