Living in Washington, DC is an amazing experience and the city offers so many opportunities that enhance my college experience every day. Living in the same city as our president and being a stone’s throw from our national monuments is inspiring, and being surrounded by ambitious and intelligent students, professors and politicians motivates me to be the best version of myself, but in mid-October I still feel always like there’s something missing in this town.
It’s hard to feel homesick in a city as busy and distracting as Washington DC, but when I realize I still walk to class in shorts and flip flops and when I wake up on dreary, rainy days, I realize me how some seasonal changes of fall don’t exist in this town and I’m starting to miss the beautiful waterfalls I experience back home in Fairfield, Connecticut.
I had lived in Fairfield, Connecticut all my life and it is much further north than DC. Living in a rural and wooded town has spoiled me with the prettiest and fullest waterfalls DC has remembered me. I was lucky enough to also have a home in Easton, Connecticut, which was only a town above Fairfield, but it was about a twenty minute drive. When my mom moved there I wasn’t ready to accept the changes, but as fall came I really started to appreciate the twenty minutes I had to myself in my car driving the beautiful roads of Easton.
I drove from Fairfield to Easton almost every day, and as I got to know Easton’s back roads better, I purposefully began driving off-route on my way home from cheerleading practice and quietly admiring the beautiful fall foliage, cherishing every minute I had to myself. had in that car. I rolled down my windows a bit to catch that pleasant fall night scent that was so specific.
Every morning I would wake up and step out in my fall boots and light coat, catch the fresh fall air, and get in my car to drive back to Fairfield. As each autumn morning passed, I could see the leaves gradually change color and begin to cover more and more winding roads.
This scenic drive passed many farms and local markets that offered fall activities such as apple picking, pumpkin picking, and corn mazes. Fall wasn’t fall unless you did at least one of those things and no apple picking trip was successful without hot apple cider or a pumpkin donut. While most people only get to experience the apple or pumpkin picking experience once a season, I was lucky enough to drive past the beautiful apple orchards every day. A few days before school, I can even smell the cider donuts and other fall baked goods being baked, tempting me to stop by before school and pick up breakfast.
In Fairfield, fall also meant cheerleading, Friday night football games, pep rallies, rival high school football games, and lots of school spirit, and without it at GW, I’m starting to miss all that fall held and get a little nostalgic. As much as I’ve fallen in love with DC, fall just isn’t the same here without the wildlife, trees, orchards, and school spirit. The closest I’ve come to relating to fall is buying a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, but that’s just not the same as a fresh pumpkin donut or hot apple cider. As November approaches and I still haven’t noticed any seasonal changes and have yet to participate in any fall activity, I really miss my hometown in general at this lovely time of year and would do anything to drive that route from Fairfield to Easton who captured all the best parts of fall so magically