rosie abigail

Despite all the mantras of ‘new year, new me’ and the New Year’s resolutions that pop up all over the place, I find September is more a time of change than January. I know  I’m not the only one who thinks this – come on, put your hands up too!

I can chalk this down to spending seventeen years of my life starting a new school year in September. September used to mean a brand new Claire’s Accessories pencil case, and the coolest Clarke’s shoes around. That slowly moved to making sure I had the best dyed-red Hayley Williams inspired hair, and the cheapest Jane Norman bag I could find. Then came moving to University; bye-bye school, hello higher education, late nights, and lectures. 

Whilst I’m not directly in the spin of ‘starting school in September’ anymore, I work in the higher education sector, so can’t shake the idea of September being the gateway to changing times! But, I also think it’s more than that. You can feel the change in September. The slight difference in the breeze that tells you autumn is on the way. The leaves start to peak through the green in orange and brown. I find myself reaching for a cardigan and slippers as soon as I wake up. A bit more specifically aimed at myself, my asthma rears its ugly head like ‘oh, it’s September; I’m here!’ All these little moments add up to that September feeling of change. 

For everyone the world over, it’s been a tough year. And it’s precisely because of that that I have made a conscious effort to follow September as the time for change. As well as living in a COVID world, I’m adjusting to living with PCOS. I’m saving and planning for a wedding and a house deposit, and finding my mind yearns for more creativity. I’ve got to take more care of myself, my health, my money, and my workload. So, I need to change how I currently do things. 

I’m not reinventing myself, I have no need or desire to do that. I’ve recently come to terms with the fact there’s a lot to like about myself. I’m just picking up the bits off the floor that I’ve neglected, and gently pushing who I am so I can be who I want to be. This involves treating myself right. And for me, treating myself right involves cutting out food that harms my body, taking time out of my day to walk or exercise, and simply making the time to be creative and actually write. 

These changes won’t happen overnight, and I wouldn’t want them to. It just seems like the right time to start making those changes. Like leaves changing colours, like the breeze getting cooler, like September arriving.

Rosie x

Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin |

Educate & Donate: Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust | Stonewall UK | Survivor’s Trust | Mind |