It finally feels like fall and, if you ask me, this is one of the best times of the year. Here are five reasons why:

1. Leaves

I wake up too drowsy to shower every morning, especially after a night of last-minute history papers and math problems.

Whenever I went to work early in the morning at some research buildings over the summer, my hair was always disheveled. This was hardly a professional look and contributing to the awkwardness was the fact that I was working with suave graduate students and veteran engineers.

Remember how at the end of every episode of The Big Comfy Couch, Loonette would look around and say, "Who made this big mess?" Then she would shrug, commenting, "Me? I did, didn't I? Then I guess I have to clean it up. It's only fair. Get ready for the ten second tidy." And off she would go, cleaning in high speed.

Autumn is my favorite season.

I love the colors, the smells, the foods, and of course, the festivities! Since as long as I can remember, Halloween as always been my favorite holiday. Sometimes it shifts to being number two, replaced only by Thanksgiving, of course!

Everyone has things that can brighten their day. My top-ten list of the things that make me happy are all regular, everyday things.

1. Chocolate

I am a compulsive reader of the New York Times.

The other day, I ventured into the crossword section and I decided that I would give their puzzle a try. I mean, how hard could it be?

Well, let's just say that I failed. Miserably.

"What happened that night, that final night,
Double treble exposure over everything.
Late afternoon, Friday, my last sight of you alive.
Burning your letter to me in the ashtray.
With that strange smile."

In the previously unenlightened time of my life, I wore skinny-legged denim daily and found myself unable to move about as freely as I would like. I made a trip to a local apparel store and purchased a pair of leggings. Soon, I owned more black leggings than pairs of jeans.

Usually at the sight of any bug, I will run away screaming. No matter if it's a tiny ant or a harmless cricket, they all freak me out. But for some inexplicable reason, I signed up to take Bug Bio this semester.

At risk of sounding like a total Potterhead (Urban Dictionary says this is a real word), I am beyond excited for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Uni High is really hard.

While I love our high school, the amount of work we must do along with the extracurricular activities we plan out, it never seems like I have enough time to do everything that I need to do. In fact this very blog was due yesterday (sorry Ms. Lombardi, calculus takes over my Thursday nights).

Last year as a sophomore, I was always quick to utilize a free period for getting through as much homework as I could. And, despite occasional distractions, I was pretty efficient.

However, this year there's only one thing I can focus on during a free period: sleep.

Little did I know what awaited me. I had signed up for a “sissy sport” and ended up in the middle of “Hell Week”.

In elementary school, I would consistently fail the weekly spelling test. When my middle school held a spelling bee, I was the first one down. I still don't really understand all of the nuances of the "i before e" rule. Needless to say spelling is not my strength.

And I am fine with it. Because guess what? Spelling doesn't really matter anymore.

As Uni students, we're expected to spend more time on homework than our public school peers despite longer school hours and arguably busier schedules.