September, Reminiscing and Balance.

As I write this I’m sitting in Starbucks in my normal seat where I’ve actually wrote a good 90% of all my blog posts to date.  I quite enjoy it here.  It’s a place to write and surf while watching interesting characters come and go. For some reason I feel like I can get more accomplished while sitting in public which I actually didn’t realize this about myself until recently. I think Starbucks might be my compromise between being secluded while having alone time and feeling like I’m somewhat interacting in public. I normally bring my earphones and listen to my music, but for some reason I forgot them today which sort of forces me to eavesdrop on others’ conversations around me. I got two eyes on my screen and one ear listening to a convo on my right that two young 20 something year old girls are having about planning a wedding and on my left is a couple talking about the first day back to work and school, I’m gonna assume she’s a teacher. People’s lives are interesting to me. How diverse they are. How unique everyone really is yet were sitting under the same roof.  

The Labour Day long weekend has come and gone, and today is the first day of school for many and I’m actually quite jealous. Not jealous of the homework, sitting in class bored out of your skull or waking up early but more or less jealous of how this day for many marks the start of so many new things and fresh starts.  Back to school also means its September. Oh how I love September and the season of fall. The crisper weather is here and that was surely evident this past weekend and today.  I think I even spotted some sprinkles of fall colours on the trees. Don’t get me wrong I love the summer weather, sundresses, flip flops, driving with the windows down, no jackets, the cottage and the lists goes on and on…but there’s something about September and fall that gets me excited. Yes, it signifies the end of summer and that’s kinda sad, but for me it also feels like the start of a ‘New Year’ as well (even when you aren’t a student).

For me September has always been the feeling of starting fresh, very similar to New Years. Even though it has been 6 years since I’ve been out of school I still get sucked into these back to school promotions and I have this urge to have new things and to buy new things. I was the kid who would take pride in sharpening every new pencil crayon just so and arranging them perfectly in the new pencil case. Scoping out the new back-pack and all its compartments and planning where things were going to go inside and deciding which compartment was for what.  I was also the kid that started off the school year by making a promise to take neat notes, starting off the year with the best handwriting and then by the end of the month it was usually sloppy again. New notebooks and pads of paper were the best thing about new school supplies. Still to this day the smell of new books, magazines and paper in general reminds me of September.

September is also the Birthday month and I’m turning the big 2-7 which blows my mind. I have a brother who is going into his last year of high school which I really can’t process quite yet as it makes me feel old but also because I remember my last  year of high school like it was honest to God yesterday. The hype of college choices, the hype of deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life and the excitement of being at the top of the school food chain. Oh how I miss the drama of high school! Looking back I find it funny the kinds of things that use to consume your life when you’re a teen only to find out years later it really isn’t a big deal that some girl hooked up with your high school crush over the summer.  If I only knew that these trivial things would virtually have zero impact on REAL life that starts once you leave the microcosm of high school.  Side note, I’ve just realized that all my crushes over the years, including boyfriends for the most part have worn glasses – for some reason I find that interesting, I wonder what that means?!

This past week I got my first paid photography job. It’s just family portraits and I’m not charging very much but I’m excited that someone thinks my work is worth paying for. This really excites me and feeds the motivation. This past week I’ve even started to think about what it is I’m going to call this photography business . I have a few ideas bouncing around but nothing is really standing out to me. I’m sure it will come, but the significant thing is I’m starting to think about the steps involved in starting this little dream of mine and making it happen.

What has come to light for me this past week is this clever thing called BALANCE. The balance of living life while sifting through your dreams and deciding which ones you want to take seriously right now and which ones can afford to be shelved until the time is right. Balancing friendships and relationships of all kinds and balancing the social life while keeping time for yourself to stay grounded.

Balance

I think that’s all I got for now, but I do want to make note that the big day is 8 sleeps away. 8 sleeps until I get my keys to the new place. How will I capture that feeling of turning the key for the first time? I hope I can find time in the chaos of moving to reflect on the moment. I’ve always been worried about moments slipping by me and not remembering every important detail and truly appreciating the moment. I hope I can also find time to write here and capture the memories and feelings when they are fresh and vivid.

-J-