By Raina Benford

It’s that time of year again — the best season of the year has finally decided to bless us with its presence. Now we can celebrate and appreciate the special things that only occur during this wonderful time of year: fall. It can be argued that every season has its own perks, but the perks of fall far surpass all other seasons. Yeah, we don’t have school in the summer and we can go to the beach every day, but can we all please rejoice in the fact that we are no long sweating our asses off? There’s really no denying that fall is actually the most anticipated season of the year. The new seasons of everyone’s favorite Shonda Rhimes’ shows have finally returned after a long summer hiatus and it’s time to cuddle up and enjoy the season we have all been waiting for. There are many reasons why fall is my favorite season of the year, but I’ll spare your time and only share a few with you:

Picture-Perfect Photos

The foliage around campus will soon begin to change into different tones of orange, yellow, red and brown. When this happens the leaves will start to fall, creating piles and piles of leaves all over the place, which making one perfect fall photo opportunity. So grab your Pumpkin Spice Latte and your favorite scarf and get ready to hit that 300 likes on Insta. #ilovefall

Pumpkin Everything

Pumpkin Oreos, pumpkin M&M’s, pumpkin Pop-Tarts, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin, well, everything. Let me just say I’ll take one of each. I don’t know how the pumpkin craze began, but in fall  2015 the availability of pumpkin-flavored products is infinite. These products will not be available past Thanksgiving, so you need to make sure you try absolutely every pumpkin-flavored product you can while you can still get them. I recommend hitting up Trader Joe’s because I am pretty sure you could make a five-course meal with how many pumpkin products they sell. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Joe and grab that Pumpkin Spice Latte before your 2:30 class. Contrary to comments recently made by Hillary Clinton, the 310 calories in a grande beverage are worth it.

Layers Upon Layers of Clothing

Oversized sweaters, boots, scarves and leggings, oh my! Need I say more? There’s something so refreshing about it being socially acceptable to dress like a bum every day. Being super cozy and comfortable all of the time and having your entire body covered really has its perks. Not only can you gain a few pounds without anyone noticing, but you can conveniently go three entire months without shaving your legs. If that’s not a selling point on its own then I don’t know what is.

Halloweekend and Thanksgiving

In the great state of Nevada we are lucky enough to commemorate our admission into statehood on Oct. 31. Because of this each year we are lucky enough to get an extra day off school and work and we are given an extra day to go to a costume party and dress up as another slutty version of something. We also can’t forget about Halloween candy, scary movies, haunted houses, pumpkin patches and the fact that there is absolutely no need to buy anyone a gift.

During the fall season we are lucky enough to have not only one but two of the greatest holidays ever. Being in between Christmas and Halloween this holiday does not often get the credit it deserves. Thanksgiving: a holiday where it is perfectly acceptable to take an entire week off to go home and spend time with the people you love. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and homemade pumpkin pie are just a few of the staples included in the feast in which most of us partake in on this splendid holiday. There’s nothing better than watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with  your family, having an abundance of leftovers, and getting to nap three times in one day, but we can’t forget what the real meaning of this holiday is — giving thanks. It’s important to be able thank those around us for the little things they do every day and to truly appreciate all of things you are grateful for.

Hopefully you now agree that fall is the absolute most perfect season. Now go grab a pumpkin cheesecake bar and jump in a pile of leaves.

Raina Benford studies community health sciences. She can be reached at alexandraschultz@unr.edu and on Twitter @TheSagebrush.