3. Watch The Craft and channel your inner Faruiza Balk.

There are thousands of horror movies out there and even more scary ones, but none can quite compare the terror that is the 1996 teen drama starring Robin Tunney, Neve Campbell, Rachel True and the crowd favorite, Fairuza Balk. A cult classic about the occult, this film has everything you need to satisfy your autumnal desires: wicca, snakes, gossip, diving boards, butterflies and Connie Francis. Speaking of crooners, the soundtrack is killer, jam-packed with '90s staples like Matthew Sweet, Jewel, Juliana Hatfield, Elastica, and my personal favorite Love Spit Love’s cover of The Smiths' “How Soon is Now.” When Sarah Bailey—played by Robin Tunney—moves into town, she has a hard time fitting in (didn’t we all!). A group of loner girls who dance to their own beat take Sarah in and she finds herself caught up in a strange world of black magic. But no one steals the scenes quite like Faruiza Balk’s character, Nancy Downs, whose desire to become greater than their god Manon, was the Oscar-winning performance that nobody saw.

4. Drink like you would on Thanksgiving.

commons.wikimedia.org — Via Wikimedia Commons

And I definitely mean the amount you take in, which is usually a lot on that day. The last two Thanksgivings I was pretty intoxicated on vodka and apple cider, which my boyfriend’s cousin dubbed “George Washingtons” and which I’m totally down with. I attempted to research this seemingly obvious combination of beverages but the closest I found was Applejack, a concentrated cider drink for which George Washington allegedly wanted the recipe. Close enough! You can even take it a step further and prepare your own apple cider by simply buying delicious apples from that farmer you know, slicing them, pureeing them, and straining all the juice through cheesecloth. Voila! The crisp and brilliant taste of fall foliage bottled and in your refrigerator. If you’re interested in the difference between cider and juice, here’s a great explanation. Otherwise, you’re all set. Final step: just add vodka and you’ll be dancing on the pool table with a jack-o-lantern on your head in no time.

5. Visit one of your old schools.

Sturges Hall at SUNY Geneseo: www.geneseo.edu

It’s inevitable the fall season is associated with back to school everything. From raincoats to pencils to lunchboxes to notebooks to sneakers. Every year when you were young you did your best to enjoy those Indian summers (which many parts of the country are currently withstanding), clinging to every bit of sunshine you could before your bedtime moved up two hours. And even in college, it was back to the dorm life, the all-nighters, the jam bands, the 3am pizza inhalations. I suggest a return to any of these schools because that's exactly what I did and it was awesome. I was home recently in upstate New York and took the hour and a half car ride up from Buffalo to the State University of New York at Geneseo; the same back road route I took countless times. The college itself sits upon a hill surrounded by vast farmlands. Although it was summer and the leaves had yet to change color, I could see it happening anyways because fall is the season I associate so closely with school. The reds and oranges just taking over. While you might not have gone to school on what was basically a farm, and while it might be impossible to travel thousands of miles just to feel a warm sense of nostalgia, there’s always another way, a more simple way. Just take a walk on cool day. By yourself or with a loved one. If there’s a tree on your way, that’s great. And if there’s a leaf falling from that tree, well, even better.

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