Congratulations to Andrea Barnes for Winning the October 2025 Barefoot Writing Challenge! (Your $100 prize is on its way!)
The challenge was to write an essay that answered this prompt:
Describe a significant change in your life that happened during the fall. How did the season’s atmosphere affect you and your experience?
Andrea shared a sweet account of her autumnal transition into working from home and the poignant shifts that followed. Enjoy her winning submission:
Crisp Air, Fresh Starts, and Finding My Way
by Andrea Barnes
Fall has always been my favorite season. It feels like a fresh start — a chance to begin a new chapter, to learn, grow, and reset. And I get that gift every single year.
After moving to Las Vegas, I quickly discovered how brutal summers can be — triple-digit heat often soaring past 115. Walks, gardening, even picnics are impossible, and locals scurry to finish errands before 8 a.m. to beat the intensity of the sun.
Then fall arrives. The air turns crisp, monsoonal rains revive the desert, and even the foliage perks up. (Yes, there’s foliage in the desert!)
Growing up in Detroit, I always looked forward to September for the first day of school — new pencils, fresh clothes, familiar faces, and new teachers. Also during fall, attending college added a new layer: Sorority rushes, football games, and homecoming made autumn unforgettable.
As an adult, my favorite things still happen in the fall. Bowling leagues begin with fresh hope. Football, Halloween, Thanksgiving parades, cozy fashion, harvest moons, and warm apple cider — fall is a celebration of the senses.
Well, the fall of 2014 brought a deeper shift. I was working in casino reservations at the Excalibur Hotel when I answered a call from someone I’d worked with years earlier. After confirming her booking, we exchanged numbers — and that conversation changed everything.
She told me about a remote travel consultant role with an emergency after-hours service. I jumped at the chance. In October, I resigned; by November I was hired into a role that let me thrive in my own space.
Setting up a home office wasn’t easy, but transforming the guest bedroom was worth it. I created a professional “home” routine — getting dressed (like a casual Friday), scheduling breaks, and staying punctual. That structure kept me grounded, but the freedom of working from home was something I knew I’d never give up.
During training, my mother’s health declined. My brother called — I needed to get to Virginia immediately. Thankfully, Thanksgiving was near, and time off was already built into the schedule.
I spoke with my mom before leaving Las Vegas and she told me how proud she was of me — for stepping out, embracing change, and beginning a new chapter. Her words still resonate. She passed away the day before Thanksgiving.
After her home-going, I returned to training, filled with the spirit of fall. Office life was now in my rearview mirror — and still is. Making such a change in my 50s felt exhilarating. Some of my friends were cautiously optimistic, but I carried my mother’s pride like a beacon lighting my path forward.
And here I am again, carving out yet another chapter as a copywriter — just like pumpkins for Halloween or turkey for Thanksgiving. I’m savoring the cooling days, the football games ahead, and my warm apple cider — grateful that fall still gives me new beginnings and reinforces my hope for better days ahead.
