What is the first thing I notice about Fall on the Circle? The breeze turns from a humid curtain to a cool breath of relief.
It sweeps through my room at unexpected times, and takes with it any frustrations I might have had about Physics homework (my apologies, Mr. Prockop). Earlier in the term I slept with the constant whirring of the fan, but now that the temperature drops to 40 something every night, I don’t think another cooling device is necessary.
I think Fall, especially from mid-to-late September to October, is the most beautiful season on the Circle. The grass hasn’t turned wilted and yellow, still startlingly green against the sky, and the foliage is exquisite. I live in a secluded corner of Hundred House—I allude, of course, to the Chung-MacBride-Williams dorm triangle next to the tennis courts—where, every time I step in, it is like visiting an Autumn wonderland. When sunlight streams through the spaces between the leaves, it seems as though the ground would turn a deep shade of gold. Even though the leaves have only started turning color recently, with one tree first sensing the changing times and adjusting its color, its brethren are swift to follow. There’s a great Chinese poem that goes, “As though a gust of spring wind swept past overnight, a thousand pear blossoms bloom”, referring to snow on the tree branches, but I think the poem can also be applied to the suddenness of the changing foliage.
Otherwise, maybe life isn’t always as beautiful as the colorful leaves in the woods, but it’s still going pretty smoothly. Surprise Holiday (that no one was surprised about) came last week, so that day my friend and I set out on a foodie excursion to Boston. We headed straight to Chinatown, where we ate Peking duck, soup dumplings, and Japanese cheesecakes to our heart’s content. As I am writing this post, I remember that the school’s 140th anniversary is also today—which means Birthday Dinner, and as a bonus, the 5th formers singing ‘Blue Bottles’! I picture Mr. Bannard’s passionate conducting, with his hand waving the knife from left and right, and I cannot help but smile.
Though I look forward to many other things in store during the Fall, including long weekend, the Parents’ Weekend concert, the Fall play, Clue (in which I play the part of Yvette), I am going to sign off here. As the days grow shorter, I’m reminded to savor every crisp breeze and warm memory before winter arrives.