A paradox of a season's purpose: the problematic nature of Fall and "Summerween", the fading vibrancy of Summer, and an uncertain future for the seasons.

“If you stay stuck in the past season or fixated on the future season, you will miss the one you’re in.” 

— Maree Dee

Back in the day, I could have given a rat's ass about the seasons; it was just another part of the year...Until 2020 hit...After that, things become a lot more noticeable.

As Summer has drawn to a close, I've come to realize one thing...Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, seasons affect our daily lifestyle in ways we will never admit. The kind of attires, trends, traditions, activities that many people deem the norm...It's all affected by seasons. So little do we realize how a cycle around the Sun causes a change in what we do and what we see. This especially goes double on the Internet, where communications and advertising has been expanded in ways nobody in the 90s ever saw coming. Speaking as an ambiverted Northerner living in a Southern metropolitan area, I've experienced seasons to their fullest extent.

Unfortunately, it seems like a mix of factors have been kind of corrupting how seasons are treated lately. Two major things: Rampant commercialism and climate change. The former tends to cling on to holidays like nobody's business, pretty much overshadowing all else, and the latter has had a nasty tendency to take the fun out of some seasons...

But I digress; I needn't get ahead of myself.

I have always been one to live by a major rule, and one that usually sees me through; Enjoy the now. So little do we take the time to appreciate what's in front of us in spite of all that's going on. Even if things aren't favorable now, they might get worse so every little moment matters.

So...with that said, we all have our favorite times of the year.

Anyone who knows me knows I, like many others, have an intense love for Summer; it's a season with some of the best traditions, fads and niches.

I may be from up north, but trust me, I don't miss it. I'll take the heat anytime.

It's hot enough to the point you can dress as loosely as possible and have it seen as socially acceptable, you got longer days which means plenty of sunlight and vitamin D, and the beaches are ever-so-lovely during this time of the year...and my goodness, there's so much variety during the Summer; There's always new experimental products and no one fad is ever the same during the Summer. Yeah, it's always about pool parties and going to the beach so the motif stays the same, but still, it's a classic. Most of us enjoyed Summer vacation I'm sure as kids, and let's be honest...As we all grew up from that, we all at one point have had "That one summer" where things really changed for us, even if it isn't like in the movies.

Whether people want to admit it or not, the heat is actually nice; I know it's an alien concept that people still enjoy the heat in this day and age. You know, there are very few who will acknowledge that the heat always makes dunking yourself into a nice big pool, soaking in the sun at the beach, or having a cookout with friends and family that makes it much more appealing and special. Hell, even a walk on a pleasant summer day and a warm summer evening where everything's green and vibrant has an appeal that Autumn will never have.

Also, you have no holidays sans the 4th of July, which means everything is nice and quiet. I know that's a bit of a hot take but let's be honest, things sometimes get horrendously busy during the holiday season, and not being able to take it slow actually really sucks, so for Summer to be the time that you can do that is a godsend.

And best of all...Watermelon season. The kind of fruit that quenches and fills you up...Very few fruits are capable of doing it. Tropical fruits in general are much more favorable during this time of the year anywhere you go.

To sum it up, everything is changing in the season of Summer; Good times and reminiscence run deep with this time of the year...Most people pick this time of the year to do their vacations for a reason. There's honestly a lot more than that as to why Summer is a good season, but the whole purpose of this article isn't to gush; There's an actual point I'm building up to. 

Having said that...in recent years...Climate change has definitely done a number on Summer. 

It's affecting all the seasons, but Summer especially. 

Look, I personally care very little for people who hate this time of the year just because they hate that its hot, or that they have to deal with mosquitoes, sweat or can't wear extra layers; That's a lifestyle for most people living in the continent of South America near the Equator, so yeah, I'm not exactly too phased by people's hate for the heat...That, and the people who hate Summer are typically very one-sided about Fall's shortcomings, but more on that later. 

The only time I'm sympathetic to people about it is if they got medical conditions that leave them vulnerable such as Anhidrosis or Hypohidrosis...That I can understand, because if you can't naturally cool off, then your life is in danger 24/7 during Summer.

With that said, it's no secret that this time of the year has actually gotten really hard for a lot of people to enjoy, especially in the South and on the East Coast. I mean, for a season that's all about fun in the Sun, it has gotten dangerous given that in recent times, you got: 

-Higher UV levels get in the Summer and dangerously high temperatures, especially in the South; Look, there is such a thing as too hot, and southern states have been crossing into dangerous territory with that. It's really, really easy to get sunburned at best and skin cancer at worst, especially in Florida. Unless you got the best researched sunscreen, it's risky, but that only protects you from the UV rays and not the heat...When the USA starts feeling like Ecuador's weather (you need at least SPF 100 to not burn there in the Autumn), that's a red flag about the future of this season.

-Hurricane season is becoming horrendous around here on the East Coast, and the end of Summer always signifies the beginning of it. 1st of August and we already had a Cat 1 storm hitting Florida; Debbie I believe...Heck, by the time this goes up, we got Hurricane Helene hitting us as we speak. Regardless, the fact that your entire living situation around here can be flipped upside down on its head is a horrifying reality that many of us on the East Coast have to face...But more on that later.

-Outside of climate issues, Summer of all seasons is becoming a major incubating season for Covid-19 in a way that most of us didn't see coming. New variations almost every season, and speaking as someone who works in healthcare, it's not fun playing Russian roulette with our lives or others around us with that sort of thing, but a job's a job...Still, they teach you everything about pandemics except how to live with the consequences of your own mistakes or the mistakes of others...Both which I dealt with in 2022, the latter then the former in that order. Thank goodness I was vaccinated and boosted at the time, but still...

That is an omen for things to come. It's honestly a pity that it's becoming hard to enjoy anymore. Combined with that and that the official beginning of Summer these days begins with the Supreme Court basically making the 4th of July as awkward as possible (a holiday that which has become hijacked by white nationalists for that reason alone), Summer has garnered a...mixed...reaction.

Yet, in spite of Summer slowly losing its reputation as a relaxing beach season...It doesn't make Fall or Winter more desirable. Infact, quite the opposite!

I'm serious, those two aforementioned seasons are overromanticized, overcommercialized, and put on a pedestal on social media for arbitrary reasons...Fall, especially...Hell people are too busy wanting it to come they make themselves miserable over it, and people get very petulant and one-sided whenever people have an issue with Fall or Winter. I'm sorry, nobody wants eternal Fall (or Autumn, whatever you want to call it) nor is it going to happen at this rate. If anything, Summer is slowly being extended in the South and eventually up North.

Look, contrary to what you're probably thinking right now, I'm not here to dunk on people just because they like Fall or Winter, or convince anyone that they're bad seasons; If you like it, your cup of tea...I'm well aware that the internet is where introverts gather with other introverts so it's to be expected that Fall as a season has such a large gathering here.

Hell, in spite of the beginning being absolutely miserable for me, even I find at least a little joy in this time of year given all the local multicultural events and jazz-themed fests tend to happen during Autumn around here in spite of my personal disdain for the season...Hell, Oktoberfest can be fun even if you don't drink, and Hispanic Heritage Month? Come on...Ese es obvio...

Basically, I only enjoy all the stuff that's got nothing to do with Fall or Halloween despite that it happens around those two times of the year...And it's funny too...Back in 2020-2022, I used to hate Fall with a passion. As I started to recover from the lockdown from 2020, I eventually became a lot less disdainful of it, but that doesn't mean that its suddenly devoid of problems. That also doesn't mean I can't admit even I find some specks of joy in it.

Who I do have beef with people who act like the two seasons are flawless or that there's only positives, and that they should be the only seasons bothered to be acknowledged and disparage anyone who doesn't like them, and they get very defensive when someone on the open web counters such audacious statements. It's seems to be okay to bash Summer as a season, but saying anything remotely negative about Fall or Winter? Oh man, prepare to be vilified or mocked. I know the risks.

All I'm saying is, if people are allowed to lambast Summer openly and freely, then people can do the same for Fall or Winter; Those two seasons are not above criticism.

Yes...you have some who take it way too far...

In some parts of social media, particularly Facebook and X, there's this weird fanaticism built around Autumn and Winter...It was in 2021 that I really began to take notice of this, and hooooo boy have I've had some..."interesting" encounters with some of these terminally online folks on the two aforementioned websites, both willingly and unwillingly.  

A lot of these hardcore fanatics tend to be anti-social assholes or tryhards who either confuse being contrarian with being weird or hijack the concept of introversion to justify their own bitterness against hotter seasons, people outside the internet (namely extroverts) and against society to the point they act like total assholes in conversations about seasons. More often than not they perpetually push and worship Autumn (and Halloween by proxy), and Winter...declaring them to be "superior seasons" and complain about Summer en masse as soon as May hits, and they are oddly bashy of anyone who doesn't like the seasons or the cold...

There's a fine line between being an introvert and being an asshole...

I know that to say Fall or Winter isn't objectively the best season is a very unpopular sentiment on social media, but I knew the risks. It's part of why ultimately, I keep my distance from X. It's impossible to have a healthy discussion about seasons over there. There was only ever one conversation I had with someone from the Fall crowd that I hold dearly.

When the fanatics feel their delusions are challenged (You only need to be near them for them to pop off), they'll usually give tone-deaf "advice" like "wear a jacket" without actually addressing what's being said or have some petulant response, par the course. Not going to lie, I actually think it is funny to hear the words "skill issue" coming from the people who melodramatically whine about mosquitoes or any kind of heat that induces sweating or makes wearing layers during Spring or Summer uncomfortable...Of course if anyone throws their petulant responses right back at them, guess who's going to be vilified?

I'm sorry, but living with barely any sunlight or claiming to never get sick in the cold and then flexing about it to others doesn't make anyone "superior"...it makes them a conceited dick too caught up in their own hate for the heat and society that they ignore concepts like circadian rhythm and are trying to flex; It has the same exact energy of people who think they didn't have to mask up or get vaccinated because they "never caught covid", as if being asymptomatic wasn't a thing...

People with an "Empathy for me, but not for thee" mentality are problematic. Even outside the fanatics, one thing I always notice is that the Autumn and Winter crowds in general is that they always seem to think the world revolves around them and their holidays; It's honestly an unhealthy mentality. It's because of this that my sympathy for Autumn fanatics during the Summer is very low for this reason. 

I don't dub anyone who's enthusiastic about Fall or Winter a fanatic; they're a much smaller group than I'm making em' out to be. However, even outside of the fanatics, I have noticed that many in the Fall/Winter crowd tend to get aggressive or petulant very easy...I've seen grown adults devolve into angry one-sided children when someone doesn't like either season...and the fact that social media and companies both pretty much become in-your-face about it as soon as June hits is honestly eyeroll-worthy. It's all they seem to be able to look forward to and Jesus some really think that they're objectively "the best seasons" when they really aren't.

I'm sorry to burst some people's bubbles when I say this; Fall and Winter are not "the best seasons". There are things about them that objectionably sucks for a lot of people unless you don't have to go outside at all, even for work.

The sole exception to that is those who are self-employed, which, more power to them, but sadly not everyone is as lucky.

As soon as it hits, the air starts to get frigid, and with frigid air brings a higher chance of sickness; Don't give me the spiel about "crisp Autumn air", that shit's not crisp. I'm from up North, and half the time I felt like I was coming down with something just being in that kind of weather, and not to mention the cold brings a feeling of loneliness that's uncomfy as hell. The South tends to avoid this kind of weather, but the cold waves still bring that misery down here every now and then. 

If it's not frigid, then it's raining like crazy; Rain is fun during the nighttime when you don't have to or want to go anywhere...Not so much when you have to drive through it (Walking through it varies, however, I'll admit)...and in you're in the South? The mosquitoes do not go away; Where it's wet, they'll be out in full force, and rain ensures the conditions are perfect for them. So really the idea that mosquitoes go away after Summer is just a Northerner misconception.

Aww hell, in general, the more southern parts of the USA tend to have desert-like climates during the Fall and became more amplified later down the line, which in some part, is thanks to Climate change; cold in the morning, no less hot in the afternoons like Summer, then freezing cold in the evening. It's absolutely miserable. Only by November is it actually anything close to the idealized version of Fall, and by then we've unofficially transitioned into Winter at that point.

Also, since we're at it, Hurricane Season gets worse during the Autumn...Yeah, I'm gonna be really honest, Summer may be the hottest time of the year, yet it always seems to be during the very beginning of Fall that the Hurricanes hit the USA and endanger people living in either the South or the East Coast. Yeah, not exactly a good feeling, worrying about whether you'll survive or go homeless from circumstances beyond your control. Remember Hurricane Sandy? I do, and need I remind you that Florida is getting trashed by Hurricane Helene as we speak. So please, if you like taking walks through the rain, for your own safety do not do it during torrential downpour.

So...Outside of weather and temperatures...It's bad enough Hurricane conditions and covid is all over the place as soon as Summer hits its midpoint, and disease in general is rampant during the Fall, but guess what slowly rolls in at the end alongside it? 

That's right, Flu season...

Working in healthcare or any job dealing with people during Fall and Winter is like playing Russian Roulette...Because guess what an influx of travelling brings? I don't care how strong a person's immunity system is, or how many immunity-boosting foods they eat, no one is safe from catching or spreading something this time of the year; it's that kind of aforementioned mentality that a lot of people had during the early days of the covid lockdown that allowed things to get to the level they did. 

Add onto the fact most people tend to flock indoors when the cold weather hits and considering a lot of them don't practice good hand washing or hygiene practices, fomites and droplets are all over the place from at least one dumbass...It becomes very easy to get sick. We already have a few new respiratory diseases coming in this Fall along with our usual Flu and Cold season so...yeah, not really looking forward to that either. All it takes is someone who doesn't practice good health or hygiene to undo the good work that other people put in; look at how covid spread in the USA. Most of the time people get sick from something they randomly touched, something someone cooked, or even someone breathing around them and didn't think twice about...Sadly, that's just the norm.

It's what happens when restaurants, organizations, and stores don't properly clean stuff...Or take proper precautions.

Also, if you're in the South? You gotta deal with snowbirds, which concerns the older generations. They come down to the South en masse like ducks flying south for the season as soon as August ends...They also do make working in Healthcare or any kind of job dealing with people even more exhausting than it already is. Take it from me, I deal with them on a daily basis...They can get really nasty for no reason...And if they're coming from red states, they typically tend to amplify the aforementioned problems just spoken of.

And believe it or not? The whole "colorful leaves" phenomenon, aside from being overrated, is not as common as you think; More often than not they're dull brown, and they create a hazard if overabundant; If they're there, they cause allergies akin to Spring...If they're wet? Very, very easy to slip on...Not that water is needed for you to slip on them. If you really wanted to have the whole colorful leaves thing, you'd have to be living a little bit up north for that, and in a city...Which, as a Brooklyn native, I wouldn't recommend. I've only visited since I left it years ago, and truthfully, I shed no tears for missing out on it...I'm not going back to live in a city hellscape anytime soon.

Not that Florida is a viable option either considering how dangerously fascist it's become, but still...

Then Autumnal Seasonal Affection Disorder kicks in with Daylight savings, something that should have been done away with years ago. Look, I know the sun setting sooner messing with people sounds weird and many Fall revelers and fanatics alike balk at the idea of depression occurring from lack of sunlight, but you also got to throw in the fact that people's sleep clock is completely thrown off during this time of the year, which affects people mentally in ways science has proven. Up north? The sun sets as soon as 4:30 PM...That can really fuck people up, and nighttime tends to be the most dangerous time to be on the road, especially if the weather is harsh. Look up Circadian Rythm, the problem isn't nearly as simplistic as you think.

Then you got some really objectionable aspects of the season like Columbus Day, which has always been a white supremacist holiday rife with history revisionism, but has become a lot more amplified in recent times...It's bad enough that they still lie about what he did, but that they have the audacity to mock and crap all over indigenous people as well is as shitty as it is arrogant, considering how history has shown that conquerors tend to be regarded as villains for those who don't let the self-proclaimed "winners" write history alone and frequently face ruinous ends, so yeah, watching white supremacists try to flex over a dude that not only did not "discover America" (let alone "discover" anything), but also committed countless atrocities is actually really insulting...Mind you, even this guy's own country (which was in its colonization period) got sick of his crap and eventually locked him up for his crimes...Back then you had to have done some really bad stuff for even a colonial nation to be like "My guy, you done messed up" with a colonizer. A rare instance to be sure, especially since invasion and colonization both back then and today especially results in a pat on the back from first-world nations.

Speaking as someone of Ecuadorian, Puerto Rican and Spaniard descent, both colonist and colonizer background, I have huge beef with seeing a colony's atrocities glorified by people who have no grasp of history or reality for the sake of tooting their horns and metaphorically flexing at indigenous people and minorities. Thanksgiving has kind of moved away from that, but it still has its fair share of history revisionist bullshit mixed with the bashing of indigenous people.

In general, it seems to be a nasty habit for white people to be unusually aggressive with any indigenous or marginalized groups (the latter which I'm apart of) during this time of the year...Hell, as soon as Hispanic Heritage Month hits, they start relying on blatant and disingenuous whataboutism or even go full white nationalist on them. I don't know what it is about this season that makes that internalized racism surface like that, but Fall always seems to trigger it any time that even remotely acknowledges marginalized groups...

Then finally, saving the best for last, if you're in the USA? Election season. 

Nothing brings more dread and anxiety than a season where people become political as all shit and things really get tense. For Christ sake, it's no secret that a certain political party has been very eager to back a crazed fascist who's just aching to resume his schadenfreude against us all. It's nigh-impossible to look forward to anything during the Fall when you have that looming on the horizon. This has especially become more prevalent since 2016, and sadly it won't get any better. 

I'll leave it at that...

So yeah! Fall actually sucks in some ways, and there are certain negatives you cannot spin into positives. That's not to say it's a bad season and you can't enjoy it, but not enough people acknowledge how this season is flawed in depth compared to Summer.

Outside of the things that objectively suck about Fall, comes the mileage-varying aspects.

This season tends to be the most invasive for many reasons thanks to commercialists and advertisers. For a season that likes to brand itself as "cozy" and about "change", it sure does feel like anything but with how repetitive it is...and sheesh, this time of the year has a weird emphasis on death and decay which isn't really good table conversation.

But I digress...Everything goes straight to the repetitive tacky junk like pumpkin spice and "Basic" nonsense...Outside of that, a whole load of other indoorsy-themed nonsense, absolutely no variety like the other seasons. It feels kind of white-centric to be honest with the way it's advertised.

I mean seriously, there's no gentle way to put it: pumpkin spice is worst seasonal flavor out designed with only one demographic in mind, and sometimes it's literally the only flavor a place will have during the Autumn, and too many keep trying to put it in stuff that it has no business being in; Pumpkin spice Queso dip? I'm still aghast anyone thought was a good idea. Anything else tends to either have as little effort put into it as possible (like Apple anything at Starbucks), or it eventually gets discontinued and lost to the ages like Taco Bell's caramel apple freeze...

You have to look really hard to find something that isn't Pumpkin spice. It's there, but it's very rare and you'll be lucky if they have any left in stock.

Also, wearing heavy clothing has almost become a fetish during this time of the year; For Christ sakes it's not even sweater weather in most states of the USA and yet we all seem to have this idealized version of Fall weather that is nothing like what's actually happening. Sweating to death under hoodies and jackets in the day then freezing right after taking them off in the early evening is not fun. It's why I don't even bother with them...They're uncomfortable to begin with for people who prefer to dress light or come from tropical climates, why sweat to death and then freeze later on when they can just deal with the temperatures as they come? It's not pleasant either way.

The cozy and Autumnal aesthetic doesn't fit in states where it's blazing hot still, i.e. the South; Fall doesn't mean the heat goes away, and to treat it as a cozy season in light of that is a problem. We keep acting like climate change hasn't affected reality. Ontop of that, why should people be happy that it's cold? The idea that people actually could hate the cold and being forced to wear layers to be comfortable seems to be way too alien to many people.

Don't even get me started about the "Basic" trend...

And look...again, with Halloween and the "Summerween" fad built around it...

I get that adults like Halloween because they don't want to conform to societal norms and want to be "weird", especially the furry fandom...I happen to like werewolves, so I get it to an extent. But eventually you hit a diminishing point of returns on the weirdness, and when companies start making trying to be as "weird" as possible the norm and commercialize it to all high hell, it defeats the entire purpose in the most painfully ironic way possible.

Not even the Christmas is like that, at least not to that extent.

What I mean is, most holidays outside of Autumn get marketing a month before they actually begin, and given Easter is all over the place, that itself tends to vary...Halloween? Mid-freaking-June. Yes, Christmas started with that first (which I'll talk about later this year), but to follow suit was not the right choice...Infact Halloween advertising is even worse about it.

"Summerween" went from being a fictional holiday from Gravity Falls to a catch-all term for the rampant mindless commercialism surrounding Halloween at its absolute worst with an air of tackiness in real life. Don't believe me? Look at how quick retail is to throw out Halloween crap as soon as the 4th of July ends or how eager Spirit Halloween is to open as many stores as possible...Most places (sans fast food joints) actually got rid of their Summer-exclusive products before June even ended and Summer began. Having to plan 5 months ahead on what you want to buy for a season because they're more concerned about making bank from the Holiday fanatics is actually really shitty...

The fact that Christmas in July, which really doesn't begin until the end of July, is used as a justification for it rings hollow because more often than not because it's these same people who still think Christmas advertising starts too early. Its hypocrisy mixed with a lack of self-awareness at its worst; The people who cheer on one holiday dominating an entire season but complain about the very thing they've become is definitely gear-grinding. It's as if people and companies missed the entire point of the fact that rampant commercialism like that of Christmas is actually a bad thing, and instead doubled down on it with Halloween.

It's almost like a full-circle phenomenon on a more cultural scale...This whole "Summerween" fad, aside from yet again being another example on how people take Disney nonsense way too seriously, has practically been wiping out the summer aesthetic at this point from its own goddamn season. Saddest part is this isn't even anywhere near the worst thing Disney has done...

There's only so you can overhype a holiday for your own amusement and oversaturate advertisement with it before it loses all meaning. Nostalgia is one thing...Letting it overrun every aspect of the year is totally different and problematic. It stops being "spooky" and "weird" and just comes off as tacky and obnoxious...nothing fun or whimsical about that. Many people of this "Summerween" movement think they're running a cultural movement here, but in truth they're playing right into the hands of commercialists and screwing it over in the long run. This really isn't that good of a holiday to co-opt.

Look, I used to like this time of the year up to my young adult years...but at some point, everyone has to grow up just a little bit and realize the world doesn't revolve around holidays and Fall...Or our favorite season in general. Some things really aren't as rosy as we make them out to be; Hell, people choose to do some really shitty things under the excuse of Halloween...Vandalism, laced food/candy, you get the idea. That isn't just in the movies, it's in real-life too; People can be rotten...Let's also not forget how a certain demographic (the one that gets mad at HHM) and anti-vaxxers were willing to make the pandemic worse in 2020 because they wanted to stick it to the CDC for their Halloween...The fact that people can't live without their holidays even if it means helping out their fellow citizens just shows how toxic the culture around the holiday can be.

The point is, no single holiday should dominate every aspect of the second half of every year, or the year in general, and that commercialism and obsession with nostalgia has let it get this bad and normalized is honestly kind of depressing.

You never see companies in the USA do that with Valentines, Easter, and especially not with Cinco de Mayo or Dia de los Muertos. Halloween is more guilty of being commercial than Christmas is nowadays, and mind you, the Christmas craze that would start every August was what inspired that crap (and I'll talk more about that in an article later this year).

When everyone tries so hard to normalize Halloween year around, it loses that special feeling by the time it actually happens. "Summerween" is built on nostalgia taken to an unhealthy level and is now taken advantage of by companies for the sake of consumerism and profit. It's like having Christmas every day of the year, and I know some of you would hate that; Don't lie.

Look, I know it is very easy to just write me off as the bad guy, vilify me, and claim I'm not "letting people have their fun" when I point all this out, but before you do, let me remind you of a few things:

-You knew the title was going to be talking about this time of the year critically and through a non-libertarian POV; It takes a special kind of sadism to bring yourself to read all this and then chastise me for giving my two-cents. You may not have asked for it, but also remember; nobody forced you to listen.

-An article is not going to stop anyone from having fun; Let's not even go there. It's a critical breakdown of stuff.

-The idea that you're not a fun person because you dislike a subjectively popular time of the year is ludicrous. I could easily say the same about the people who hate Summer, or anything really.

To accuse someone of being "anti-fun" because they don't approve of the invasive commercialism themed around Fall and Halloween that overtakes every month in meteorological Summer is a false dichotomy. It shouldn't take Fall holiday being relevant or liked by someone to be seen as whimsical or fun. Too many people act like we're obligated to look forward to it.

At least Día de los Muertos has a profound meaning while still being fun about it...and if there's one good holiday in Autumn, it's that. I'm actually happy to see it become more mainstream in the USA. Seriously, if you're gonna have a holiday that subtly themes itself around death and decay, which is already a bummer by itself, don't make it tacky and goddammit be careful how much you advertise it; Be like Dia de los Muertos.

What it boils down to is this: Fall is the most rigid of seasons. No adaptability, no variety, no experimentation, just because a very vocal chunk of people enjoys repetition every single time of the year. It's getting hotter during the Fall than it ever was, yet it's the same nonsense every single time; coziness and "crisp air" is an outdated advertising point. It doesn't match up with what's actually going on, and I'm sorry, but not of all of us can nor want to move up to or go back to a northern hellscape to experience that...But also, it's kind of ridiculous how advertisers refuse to change their tune and adapt; There isn't anything cozy about 80-90 degree weather at all.

Then after all that, Winter hits...

Admittedly, it is slightly more pleasant than Fall...But not because of the weather, per se. Winter is definitely a lot easier to deal with in warmer parts of the USA, especially on the coast.

I can understand the appeal of the small things like peppermint mocha, and hot chocolate, and everything decked in Christmas lights; Trust me when I say that I get it. That time of year does have a surprising amount of variety. Christmas also has a type of class that cannot be denied, and lately it's become pretty subdued as a holiday since 2020 to the point I think the meaning behind it has returned...

It was all "Gimmie gimmie gimmie, get get get!" until 2020 hit us with the quarantine...It then became about coming together with our families and surviving together in a world of uncertainties. It is actually really depressing that it took something tragic to bring it back to form...But I'm happy to see Christmas become slightly less commercial. Again...I'll talk more about this a lot later from now.

Not to mention, a lot of fun shit happens during the Winter. I mean, you got Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras (both which are a blast if you know where to go), and those two are really fun to celebrate. You ever gone to a dim sum during Chinese New Year? Or been in the middle of a Mardi Gras parade? I recommend it; You'll love it. Even Valentines is fun despite the weird hate it gets; Sometimes you gotta give yourself a little love and do something for yourself. It's one of those holidays that you can enjoy however the hell you want. There is a ton of opportunity for fun, excitement, and party vibes to go around during the Winter.

A lot of variety in this season is to be had, and while I'm not fan of this season, I actually am rather indifferent to this season speaking as someone who lives in the South.

...But outside of that? Winter is really not as rosy as it's made out to be. It's just all about snow as if people are supposed to like being wrapped in mounds of layers of clothing to avoid freezing to death...Things get hellish for anybody who's gotta go outside their doors, especially retail and healthcare workers, in the early parts of Winter; It can become physically and mentally taxing, even without snow. It's miserable for people who gotta go out or don't enjoy shutting themselves indoors.

In the North, the snow makes going outside a chore and driving moreso. Seriously, that shit can get cumbersome and even dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, and even then, no one is invincible from making one wrong move that puts your life in danger. On the sidewalk? Slipping is easy. If enough piles on wires on a powerline? Power will not only go out, but the wires present a hazard which would mean certain death to anyone who happened to be there in the wrong time or wrong place...And if you're driving? It is so easy to skid and crash, and if you're driving through a snowstorm or a blizzard, you're in for a world of shit. No amount of skill is gonna save you from that.

Some of the fanatics should try driving through a snowstorm or a blizzard; See how much fun the snow is then. Snow's fun when you're a kid, but not when you're an adult...As I said, we have to all atleast grow up a little bit and acknowledge not everything was as rosy as we thought it was.

Also...It's very easy to stay cool...But keeping warm? Not so much unless you got money. Water fountains and public pools are a thing during the Summer...hot chocolate fountains and free jacket dispensers are not a thing during the Winter. There are so many deaths from freezing because they couldn't find anyplace warm to sleep (namely because public officials seek to stop them from doing so), and they succumbed to the cold. If your heater breaks, you're screwed. It's nothing short of heartbreaking...Winter is only enjoyable for the middle-class and anything above that...If you're below, it's more hellish than Summer. Up north is actually really depressing to be in during the Winter...

Even in the South, where it never snows, having a bunch of cold waves are not fun, the snowbirds at this point have fully migrated to the South for the season. Basically, everything that's wrong about Autumn tends to cross into Winter...There are very few good things I can say about Winter. But atleast in the South you don't have to worry about freezing to death. Just...yknow...the arbitrary obligation to slap on a hoodie because of a season.

Honestly, I've started to think people's love for those two seasons are also born in a place of nostalgia...Nostalgia that they cling too hard to.

But what really sets Winter above Fall is the fact that there's a variety of stuff for people to enjoy, and the advertising doesn't go all in on one single holiday; it's impossible to since Christmas literally begins and ends during the beginning of Winter. No matter how cold it gets, or how dissonantly hot it is, there's still much to do during the Winter no matter what part of the US you're living in.

Alas...My tangent with Winter and Fall ends here. That covers atleast 3 seasons...I think that's it?

Oh, wait a minute now...Yes...How could I forget...

Outside of all that, you have Spring...Which nobody really talks about too much.

Why not?

If you've read everything up to this point despite not agreeing with it 100%, without skipping any parts, bravo, I applaud your open-mindedness with me in spite of my caustic nature. Now you get to see where I'm really going with this.

Spring is arguably one of the most fun and peaceful times of the year. Temperatures become reasonable, the sun isn't burning you to death but it's not freezing, and everything just comes to life...It's practically room temperature. A lot of us are slowly and sadly becoming too old for Spring Break, but even families usually take this time of the year to go on vacations; it perfectly captures the feeling that was once associated with the Summer season. Frolicking, beach days, get-togethers and vacations...Everything Summer is supposed to be, which is ironic since the Summer aesthetic tends to take over as soon as March hits, which normally would be a bad thing but since Spring Break season is pretty much the prelude to Summer, it actually fits nicely, and it doesn't overshadow Spring as soon as April-May hit.

You still got some nice holidays like Easter and Cinco De Mayo, the temperature as at its most reasonable, and yknow what? There's nothing dislikeable about this season, except maybe allergies but...I mean, Fall has an allergy season too so...It can be anything that people want it to be. No one holiday overtakes the entire season.

Really the only bad thing that can be said about this season is the allergies. I mean, that's not bad compared to the other seasons.

The fact that this time of the year has been able to adopt two types of aesthetics at once is awesome; Yeah sure, Spring isn't meant to be the "beach season" that advertisers keep making Summer out to be, yet it still keeps the two in tandem without letting one wipe out the other. Spring is a very dynamic time of the year unlike the other 3 seasons.

The whole point of this entire tangent is this; Treating each season as a time to push one thing is a mistake.

Look, here's my two cents on the way seasons are treated; Commercialists and Advertisers fail to read the room every single year, and at some point, they're gonna have to adapt.

That is to say...Autumn can't just be the cozy season everywhere, not when we have climate change practically bringing heat to even some of the most northern parts of the world. Heck, some people enjoy the comfort of the heat the sun brings them on a frigid Autumn Day. "Summerween" is a genie that can't be put back in the bottle, unfortunately, but it would make a lot more sense if that meant the beach aesthetic extends into September through October at least; it shouldn't just be about the holiday dominating the entirety of Summer.

There's plenty of time for coziness in the Winter; Besides, sweater weather in sweaty weather never made any sense, so making Autumn the designated cozy season is nonsensical.

Summer can't be the sole outdoorsy fun-in-the-sun season, because it's becoming too dangerous in some places to even step foot out; I'm from Florida, you step 11 minutes out your home without sunscreen on a Summer day, you will burn as if you were in Ecuador. I'm going to be honest...Considering how bad global warming has done a number on temps, it's just going to keep getting hotter and in truth the hate for Summer will unfortunately increase because of it. So really, there's little that can be done for that time of the year.

But the point is, Spring has shown that it can be a season for more than just one fad...Yet advertising refuses to treat other seasons as such. Autumn is always "Cozy season" and Summer is always "Outdoorsy season", and that's a big mistake. Companies are way too busy trying to only appeal to one demographic with outdated portrayals of seasons that are built on...If Spring can juggle two aesthetics, then so can Fall.

That doesn't mean the changes are gonna happen, atleast not any time soon...I'm just a guy writing a blog, not a consumerist watchdog...

But so long as companies keep treating seasons as a single aesthetic and allow for total domination by holiday, then it's always gonna suck.

Climate change is altering the world and its seasons in ways we can no longer deny nor ignore. Commercialists and Consumerists however refuse to keep up with the times and adapt...They still treat Fall as all coziness and sweater weather when all we have are Summer-like temperatures in the middle of Autumn...And why would they care? So long as their greedy asses only care to make a buck and people help them with it.

People will eventually get sick of Halloween in the same way that people got sick of Christmas advertising way back when; It's full circle, there's no denying it. The die-hard revelers can pretend that Halloween is going to be loved and cherished across the USA because of it, but the only thing that's gonna happen is that it's going to net a type of notoriety bigger than that of Christmas....And eventually, let's face it; The Fall we all know is going to become a memory of the past with the way the world is going. The South is getting hotter and so are the Northern parts of America to a smaller extent, even after the meteorological end of Summer, and soon so will the North; it no longer matches up with the rosy image that companies and the internet pushes.

And who knows what future Summers are going to be like at this rate...I shudder at the possibilities.

It's very clear that things will have to get worse before they get better, one way or another...