My eighteenth October has finally arrived, as well as my first semester in college, and I am welcoming both with open arms. Summer has been long and hard for me, and I can say that I am ready for a much needed change in season. Over here in Los Angeles the change in seasons is subtle, but if you look closely you’ll see the leaves beginning to turn brown and the air beginning get cooler. Autumn is probably the most poetic of all seasons, with the exception of Spring, and this is why I like it. Hemingway said that one always feels immortal in the warmer seasons, especially Summer. You lose focus, have too much fun and, eventually, burn out. But when Fall comes around and the cool wind chills your cheeks you begin to come to the harsh realization that all of this will end someday.

October is a great month for Los Angeles this year. The L.A. Dodgers are in the playoffs and, as of this moment, they are ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series. The Dodgers tend to disappoint me year after year, but as of now I can finally find solace in the great American sport of baseball. I’ve always believed baseball to be the most poetic and Romanic of all American sports, and the great old October classic always puts me in somewhat of a contemplative mood.

Last month I watched the New York Yankees play their last game at the historic Yankee Stadium. Next year they will move across the street to their new, improved ballpark, but I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for all of the memories I have attached to the Yankees and their great ballpark in The Bronx. But I managed to wipe my tears away when I watched the Dodgers massacre the Cubs in the first two games of the NLDS.

October is quite an ironic month, if you examine it closely. It is a month in which we celebrate. Oktoberfest, Halloween and the MLB postseason all amount to a large party for most of the nation. But it is also a month in which we watch the leaves slowly fall to the ground and die, making way for the bitter cold that we all will face in wintertime. But it is also time for a nice change, and I’ve been looking forward to Autumn 2008 for a long time. So far it’s living up to my expectations.

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