I am about to make a confession that may cause me to be banished from the race of white girls. I may be shunned, mocked mercilessly, and scorned for the rest of my days at Harrisonburg High school, but what I believe must be said.

I don’t like pumpkin. And – more specifically – I don’t like Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Pumpkins, in my opinion, are fun to cut up and draw faces on. They really set the mood when you walk up to a house as a seven-year-old and see the flickering, ghoulish faces cut out from the body of this orange squash. However, the taste, and even the smell of this popular fall delicacy, is something my tongue has and will never learn to appreciate.

I’m not saying that I think people should completely cut out pumpkin from their autumn diet, but what I do think is that I shouldn’t be forced to either suck it up and eat pumpkin, or take the ridicule that comes with expressing my opinion.

Pumpkin Spice Lattes are clearly a very successful franchise led by Starbucks, but when I list reasons that I love fall, that drink is most definitely not present. The flavor of pumpkins, spice laden or not, doesn’t necessarily disgust me. It’s just unpleasant, uninteresting, and I can think of so many things I would rather be doing than sucking down an over sweetened blended pumpkin with a dollop of whipped cream on top in a weak attempt to disguise it.

Kudos to those of you out there who can complete such an action, perhaps even with some enjoyment involved. Although I myself cannot find pleasure in Starbucks’ horrible concoction, I will not judge you for your (mistaken) opinions any more than I would ask you to conclude things about me.