Cheers to fall weather. I cannot wait for the leaves to start changing and for the air to get crisp. Not to be basic for a moment, but I’m so excited for pumpkin spice everything. 

Cheers to pens that do not smudge. Picture this: you are in English class, you pull out a new pen, and you start writing an important essay. Oh, no! Your hand runs over the ink, you look down at your hand expecting the beautiful essay to be smudged all over it, but the ink is still in place. As John Keats once said, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

Cheers to braces. Who does not love having perfectly straight teeth? It makes Picture Day so much easier when you can just flash those pearly whites. (Remember: Picture Day is September 17 for grades 9-11.)

Cheers to air fryers. No more soggy chicken nuggets for anyone with one of these bad boys. ALSO: Did you know there are whole cookbooks of things to cook in air fryers? Amazing. 

Cheers to Staff Writer Jax Rainey for a weekend of LARPing. At first, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about when telling me this, but I did some research and it turns out to be a really cool live-action dress-up game thing. Cool!

Jeers to Georgia’s crazy weather. In the morning it is so nice and cool, but then soon as it hits midday, it magically hits a whopping 90 degrees. Dear Mother Nature: Make up your mind!

Jeers to gun crime. Come on, y’all. Is it really that hard to just not shoot people? I do not know if it is like a sport or a fun hobby to some, but either way, I would really like to recommend hunting. All the fun of shooting something, without the whole killing people part. If hunting does not do it for you, then I recommend therapy. 

Jeers to braces. I personally only ever had Invisalign, but ouch the pain it was. Plus, photos with a mouth full of metal, never flattering. 

Jeers to tests. I promise that I take good notes and pay attention in class. However, as soon as the test paper is in front of me, all knowledge is out the door. Also, I really think teachers collaborate and collectively decide to put all their tests on the same day to maximize stress levels. 

Jeers to the mask mandate extension. It is so great that we now have to wear these things until mid-October (Did you detect the sarcasm?).