by Selene Ashewood ’22

Everyone is officially back in school and settling into this year’s classes, which they all chose last winter without any knowledge that they’d be taking the courses from home. Other than the national number of COVID-19 cases or political tension, what else is on the rise this September?

Unlike in August, general Autumn enthusiasm is now socially acceptable. Fall-fanatics were validated the week of August 21, when competing coffee shop chains Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts released their pumpkin-flavored drinks and foods. Based on the amount of conversation and number of tweets about these items, the fan favorite out of the pile of pumpkin spice is the pumpkin cream cold brew coffee from Starbucks, first released in 2019. The probable reason that this drink ended up being the star is because its caffeinated counterpart, the pumpkin spice latte, has been occurring since 2003 with a running joke about it dying around four years ago. Although the cream is sweet, the cold brew is mostly coffee with a heavy taste of it, so if that isn’t your thing, why are you drinking at Starbucks in the first place? 

At the time of writing this, there have been over 1,000 tweets in the last hour that include the phrase, “No Simp September.” If you’ve been living under a rock for almost a year, the term “simp” means to be overly nice to a girl in hopes of a relationship in return. The premise doesn’t sound too outrageous, but immature boys took the word and ran with it, slapping the label onto any man that is just decent and respectful to the opposite sex. So after a summer of social justice, teenagers and young adults aren’t too happy with “simp” making a comeback. However, this is already seeming to become just a joke used in a hypothetical situation rather than an actual form of taunting. For example, many teen girls are saying “I lost no simp september.” in regards to actors in tv shows or movies that they find attractive. 

Lirika Matoshi, the New York City-based designer brand, is still receiving unprecedented support due to the strawberry dress of theirs that now has its own online fanbase. The strawberry design is now being used on their shirts and masks, both of which have become best sellers. All social media platforms are watching this brand and eating up everything they put out, with some designs retailing over one thousand dollars being sold out on Lirika Matoshi’s website.