While looking at a calendar, certain months might automatically come to mind as being the best month of the year. Sure, you have December which has Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, putting everyone in a pleasant mood. Then there is the nice summer month of July, bringing barbecues, fun hours at the pool, 4th of July fireworks and of course the pleasure of school being on summer break. But one month often gets overlooked as being the best month ever: October.

By the time this favorite month of mine comes around, everyone has finally gotten into a regular routine of school, and the academic year has become the primary focus. Sure, September has its perks of some much-welcomed days off like Labor Day, but students are still mourning summer and depressed that it is over. However, by October, school is the norm and summer is just a good memory.

There is nothing worse than being in sporadic weather when one day, you’re wearing pants and a long-sleeve shirt with boots and a jacket, and the next day, you’re wearing shorts and a tank top with flip flops and sunglasses on your head. Take this September as an example – one day we were in summer clothes, the next day or two we were in winter clothes, then we were back to summer clothes and the cycle continued. Now was that fun? I don’t think so…

Calling all sports fans: October is the month for all of you to turn on your TV sets and watch practically any sport you want. The NFL is deep into its schedule, NHL is beginning, NBA pre-season is getting off to a start and the college football divisions are pretty deep into their seasons. Heck, the slogan for MLB playoffs on “Fox’ is, “There is only one October.” If your favorite baseball team is not in the MLB playoffs, you don’t have to worry about getting your sports fix with the array of other sports games to watch. Can any other month bring you such an amazing variety of professional and college sports to watch? Nope, it’s all about October.

The tenth month is also the time to your taste buds get excited. This month starts the season of mouth watering food such as pumpkin pie and apple cider. Starbucks also brings back their “Pumpkin Spice Latte,” a delicious treat that only October will bring you.

Of course, I cannot argue that October is the best month without talking about Halloween. When else can you dress up and pretend to be someone else for a night, get free candy and, most importantly, get away with it?

I love how one day you wake up and the leaves on the trees change colors and fall off, and then you just pounce into the pile of leaves your parents spent hours raking, completely ruining their work. But, who doesn’t love a good jump it a pile of nice and crunchy fall leaves?

The tradition of picking out pumpkins for the front porch, trying to carve them artistically and ending up carving the good ol’ triangle eyes and three teeth mouth is always a blast. And think about how you try to plan your Halloween costume a month in advance, but as the days wind down to the 31st, you end up going as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz for the second time.

October may not bring us a vacation or snow days, but it does bring us beloved traditions that are a part of who we are.

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