Originally I had intended the premise of this post to be about the end of summer but after seeing a few articles, such as Dolly Alderton’s, and Liv Purvis’ Instagram post, the idea of starting afresh in a ‘back to school’ way really resonated with me so here we are with my thoughts and feelings on that notion.
The end of August for me often signals the closing of my favourite season for another year, and I feel saddened by the thought of closing off prospect of a BBQ for the foreseeable future, all the unworn summer dresses I have yet to don, and the long balmy nights that feel so full of optimism and opportunity. Spring and summer make my heart feel alive and every March/April I live for the day I start to see green trees and flowers sprouting up. Autumn and winter on the other hand just feel like a long old slog back to my favourite time of year. Apart from Christmas of course. I am undoubtedly jumping for joy throughout most of December so that is one glimmer of hope until summer comes back around again.
I think this feeling comes hand in hand with adult responsibilities because I don’t recall ever feeling like this every September when I was going back to school. Whilst you’re in education you get to have a long wonderful summer doing pretty much whatever you want for 6+ weeks. When it comes to September, you’re ready for a new challenge and a new year after a summer filled with adventures and/or sitting on your butt 24/7.
But when you’re an adult, ‘summer holidays’ are a distant memory and the best most of us can hope for is a two week holiday sandwiched somewhere in there. Aside from that, for those of us working a 9-5, it’s having to hope that the weekends and evenings provide us with that injection of sun and opportunity to get out and enjoy the season. Sadly some years have been a complete and utter wash out, leaving me feeling as though I didn’t really have a summer.
Luckily, this summer has blessed the UK with some rather beautiful weather. It may have been cursed by some but I relished every single second because I knew it wouldn’t last forever, and the feeling of sun on my bones, bare legs and no jackets is one of my favourites. I think this burst of hot weather has helped a little in easing the ‘back to school’ September blues this year as it feels as though we really got to enjoy summer in the UK.
Coming back to my original point, whilst I hadn’t really thought about it until I read Dolly’s article, I definitely am starting this first week of September with a renewed ‘back to school’ sense of mind. As you may have read, I have rejuvenated my blog in recent weeks and am coming at it with a fresh set of eyes and a new love for my ‘little space on the internet’. To help me with this I have dusted off one of the many unused notebooks I have accumulated and started myself a blog planner to store all my ideas, plan out all my content and keep a track of how I’m doing. I want to see some progression and improvement with my content so the only way to find out is to start taking note! And in true back to school style, I actually bought myself some colourful new pens to get creative in it, I always was a sucker for a new set of stationery for a new term. I’m not ashamed to admit that at one time I had 6 pencil cases in my desk at school. Girl gotta have those pencil options.
Secondly, I haven’t been to my trampolining class (which I expressed a love for back in May) for about two weeks due to various things getting in the way but tonight I booked myself in and got back into the swing of it. I’ve cleared out my emails and all the random bookmarks I have stored on my browser that I no longer need which felt like a real cleansing. I’ve made a start on wedding planning and booked in a bunch of wedding viewings, all of which have been written on the calendar in the kitchen and on my calendar on my phone, something I have never ever used. And I’ve started to make a few positive steps in other areas of my life that hopefully will start to make some changes that I need for my own wellbeing.
All in all, a new leaf has been turned over, the pencils have been sharpened, plans have been made, and I have that new term attitude ready to take on the rest of 2018. Here’s to it being a positive end to the year, I’m strolling into it with a new spring in my step.
