Dear Pumpkin Spice, 

God knows I adore you. Your spicy-sweet aroma is mouthwatering, and you taste like a combination of chai, snickerdoodles and a warm hug. I have some issues, however, with how you arrive on supermarket shelves earlier and earlier each year.  

Septembers are meant for new beginnings: moving into a new dorm or apartment, getting familiarized with your new class schedule and getting into the swing of being back in a scholarly environment again —unless you were a poor soul who had to take summer classes, and for that I pity you.

What September is definitely NOT meant for, however, is the appearance of fall-themed elements: anything involving pumpkins, leaves changing colors and foggy weather can hold off until mid-October, thank you very much. For our senses to be overpowered by the crisp smell of Autumn when we’ve only been back at school for less than a month — and are still dreaming of our summer activities — is a cruel joke.

I fear going to the supermarket now. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, my prior sanctuaries, now exist solely to taunt me with their vast arrays of pumpkin-spiced strudels, butternut squash mac and cheese, cinnamon brooms and Honeycrisp apple diffusers.

My daily walks through Sproul Plaza are now filled with terror — I dread knowing that one day, the towering trees lining the walkways will no longer be filled with leaves, and will instead be mere naked branches: a sorry excuse for what should be evergreen trees. I truly cannot escape the looming fall season, which promises to bring more fog, shorter days and an onslaught of midterms and papers.

The only thing that brings me joy now is knowing that pumpkin-spiced foods can exist to be both my nightmare and my salvation — whenever I find myself swamped with a never-ending pile of homework, at least I know I can turn to my favorite pumpkin-spiced toaster strudels for a brief moment of happiness.

Peace and love,

The Clog