We’re now well into autumn, with Halloween just knocking on the door. While some, at least how it seems on social media, embrace the cosy vibes with chunky sweaters, cinnamon apples and all the various pumpkin activities, others may not see autumn as the season of colours.
Instead, they experience autumn anxiety. It can feel like a challenging transition: we are back on the academic track again, while the brightness of the summer days fade and daylight hours are shrinking and shrinking.
What does autumn mean for our students? York Vision asks the students on campus.
“Oh, I kind of hate autumn. Mostly because it is just before winter, and I am not looking forward to that,” laughs the first student we asked, “but I feel like the seasons are a bit blurred now,” the student continued, reflecting on the lack of dramatic weather change in the UK and challenges of university life.
“Autumn is one of my favourite seasons because it is quite refreshing after the summer, which was super warm,” another student says, highlighting the transitional beauty of this time of year. “I really love the bridge between summer and autumn because you still have long days and the sunset has more intense colours.”
“I love picking chestnuts; it reminds me of home when we used to make animals from them,” the student shares, “I like to walk up the hill or some beautiful viewpoint where I can look at the landscape and see how it is changing.”
“I just go out and take some pictures!” A different student told us, “reading a book indoors feels more like winter, but autumn is for going to the park.”
“When I think of summer, I think of just kind of wasting my time, but now it’s time to lock in. I am locked in! I am doing my best at least,” a student says.
Some students connect autumn activities strictly to university life: “I always want to do cool activities like go pumpkin picking, but I quite never end up doing anything. One positive thing is that because you start school in autumn, you can also create a new routine or new habits.”
“My mood changes a lot: I stop a little bit, I calm my mind and also I have a stronger feeling of missing something, or nostalgia,” we were told when we asked one student how their mood is affected by the season change.
One of the most interesting responses said that: “Seasons are about life balance.”
“In autumn, you just have to calm down and be more introspective. You can see the landscape changing, but also how you are changing personally.”
And this is true. Autumn can serve as a time of reflection and (re)growth, a time that is an opportunity for you to try to balance, take things slowly and reflect on where your life journey is carrying you.