The Six Stages of Fall

Opinion written by Whitney Curtis, Williston Central School

1. The back to school commercials we have all learned to deal with; at first it's just an ad for Target or Old Navy clothes around early August, but then … the Crayola and Staples ads start blaring on your screen every time you turn on your electronics. Now school starts in two days. 
2. You're at school. Everything seems like a normal first day until you see one adult or classmate wearing a ghost. Then you remember that fall is 20 days away and you get excited for the cooler weather and, of course, Halloween.
3. October comes. The month you are finally allowed to watch Hocus Pocus without being stared at like you committed a crime and all of the YouTubers are doing a “Fall Reset.” Now the commercials are coming out with the Halloween candy and the random deep mysterious voice for all of the Reese's ads. You start looking at costumes, but all you can see are things like princesses or clowns. You want to be different this year so you look for a Disney character, but in the end you end up picking out Harley Quinn. 
4. October 10th. Everybody you see has at least one fall thing on. The Starbucks barista has a pin of a ghost and your Mom has a shirt that says “World's Best Mummy.” Maybe your teachers have decorated the hallway with fake spider webs and fake bats. You have finally succumbed to the fact that it's fall and Halloween is 21 days away. 
5. Halloween is here. You're dressing up in your costume with your close friends as you have a Halloween vlog by a YouTuber playing in the background when you realize fall is almost over and Christmas is soon. You push that thought aside and continue getting ready. You finish getting ready and go outside and see all the little kids going from door to door screaming, “TRICK OR TREAT!,” and you and your friends give a quick smile to each other and run to the nearest door. 
6. November 1st. You look at your clock when you wake up and see it's November. You go downstairs to watch the last dose of Halloween movies and eat breakfast. You look away as you hear an ad start coming on but you hear the words, “It’s never too early to go Christmas shopping at Target. Go there now for a special deal!” You think to yourself, “Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year.”