Jack Efthimiou Ranks the Seasons: Autumn Out-Performs Spring

Spring is coming to Charlotte Catholic. The flowers bloom, the birds chirp, and the air is warming up. However, the bugs are out, the pollen and the allergies return, and I believe this season disappoints when compared to others. The seasons each have their strengths and their flaws, and I intend to rank them all based on factors such as temperature, weather, and holidays.

Autumn tops the list as the best season for a variety of reasons. During this time, the holiday season approaches, and the air is cool but not yet cold. Fall holidays include Halloween and Thanksgiving, two of the biggest and most popular festivities of the year. Additionally, autumn has fewer temperature swings than spring, at least until November. The weather is less inclement than in spring. The afternoons bring less heat than summer, but the mornings are not as cold as winter. Red, orange, and gold leaves fall from trees, decorating the ground with beautiful colors.

For most people, summer marks the most exciting time of the year, but it takes second place on my list. School ends, and many students work, hang out with friends, go on vacations, or just stay at home. Students have fewer responsibilities and restrictions to worry about and the weather is consistently warm; however summer showers can interfere with outdoor activities. The freedom of summer and its great weather leads me to rank it as the second-best season.

Credit: World Atlas

Spring ranks in third place because of its variable weather and pollination. The weeks during peak allergy season, especially when there is little rain to wash the pollen away, are atrociously bad for ‘seasonal allergy sufferers.’ Severe weather including thunderstorms and hail often occur in Charlotte, and snow can fall as late as April. However, spring sports are exciting and the end of the school year quickly approaches. By no means is spring a bad season, but in my opinion, it simply cannot compete with summer and fall.

Charlotte’s wintertime weather leads me to place the season at the bottom of this list. The mornings are frigid and the afternoons can range anywhere from 50℉ or 30℉, making preparations for outdoor sports practices difficult for the players. No matter the temperature in my house, I always seem to wake up cold on winter mornings. Shoveling snow and clearing car windshields can be trouble for students in the morning. Even though Christmas makes the winter season festive and exciting, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D., affects many people due to limited sunlight exposure. According to the Mayo Clinic, this condition causes depression, oversleeping, carbohydrate cravings, bulking, and low energy. 

As Charlotte Catholic transitions from winter to spring, the new season brings warmer weather and new activities. Some see the seasons as equal, and I agree that each season brings new, interesting changes to how we live our lives; however, these changes are not equal, and thus these seasons cannot be equal. Autumn is therefore the best season, followed by summer, then spring, then winter.