Fall in San Diego

Giovanni Gonzales / Campus Focus Editor / The USD Vista

I may not be a meteorologist but one thing that I can say for sure is that it finally feels like fall in San Diego. As you all know, San Diego is blessed with an average temperature of 70 C, which is why it is such a popular destination.

Yet, the past couple of weeks we have had some pretty funky weather patterns; one day it will be pouring rain, and then the next day, it is blazing hot. I do not know whether I should be wearing my rain poncho or a t-shirt and shorts.

Finally, though, in the last couple days, San Diego has been gifted with one of the best seasons, fall.
As a kid growing up in New Mexico, I can remember anxiously waiting for fall because it meant so many different things, like the start of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which as lame as it might seem to watch a bunch of hot air balloons float up in the sky, it was actually pretty cool.

It also meant that every morning I could wake up and look at the leaves changing colors on the trees in my backyard and also on the mountain range that looks over Santa Fe, the Sangre de Cristo.

But most importantly, it meant that Santa Fe and the rest of the state would have the distinct smell of Chile roasting and the brisk smell of summer coming to an end and winter arriving.

For the past three years, fall hasn’t been quite the same as it used to be. There hasn’t been any roasting of Chile, no balloons on the horizon and sadly enough, not too many palm trees in San Diego change colors. But this year is different.

As I walk around campus, there is something in the air that I can’t put my finger on, but I know it feels like fall. It might be the fact that some leaves are falling, and I go out of my way to make sure that I step on them; it could also be because as of late, the air has had that distinct smell from my childhood.

To be completely honest, I don’t know why this year is different from the past, but I know it is.

As you all go about campus and deal with the hustle and bustle of life take a chance to enjoy the small things in life like making sure you crush that leaf to a pulp or being creative while carving a pumpkin. At the end of the day, it’s the little things that make all the difference.