September typically marks the start of something new throughout education. A new school year or a move to college or university. It’s always been a time that I look forward to. A fresh start, new stationery and a chance to get my head down once again. However this September, it doesn’t mark anything particularly new for me.
So I’ve been thinking about how I can make this new month seem like the fresh start or chance for a new opportunity I’ve always appreciated from September. Just like losing the structure of academic terms, and the comfort of always having something to work towards, this is proving to be another of those things I miss about education.
Maybe you, like me, were one of those people that thought of all the exciting new ways you could ‘change’ before heading back to school or university. Perhaps you wanted to try a new hairstyle to show off on the first day back at school or you’d bought yourself a cool new backpack – those were the days. But now, there isn’t any particular element of that fresh start in September.
So I’ve been thinking about how I can set myself some new goals and activities to feel like the change in seasons will also bring about a change for myself too. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with that you could try to:
Setting some new goals
I love the start of a new year, what better time to set yourself some new goals and ambitions for the year ahead. However, it was a few years ago that I realised how unattainable it was to set goals for an entire year, so I switched to creating and reviewing new goals each month.
This September is no different, and I’ve made these goals relate a bit more to feeling more comfortable with myself and developing my personal and professional skillset. The start of a new school or university year always held strong hopes for learning something new and pushing myself to do as best I could. So this year my September goals are to: read more (finish at least 1 book); get back into exercising (1 workout a week); and to finish my digital marketing course.
Volunteer your time
Perhaps this September isn’t the start of an academic year, but what if you could start a new activity in your spare time? Volunteering is a great way to help out others and also to fill some gaps on your CV.
If you’re feeling a bit samey with things or just want to use your spare time for good, take a look at what volunteering roles you could fill.
Learn something new
I know at the moment it can seem like everyone else is doing ten courses a week and has just learned how to speak eight new languages – thanks LinkedIn – but this is another great option this September. Whether you enrol yourself on a free, or cheap online course just to expand your basic knowledge, or give Duolingo a try, it’s a great way to use September as a month of learning again.
Regulations permitting, see if there are any community based classes or clubs that you could join. From learning a language to starting a new sport, it can give you some of the new start feelings that you’re missing this year.
Whatever it is that you’re doing this September, whether that’s going back to school or university or trying to create your own new start, I hope you have a successful and happy month ✨
Remember to check out the rest of my blog if you need any more careers, self-care or general advice about graduate life.
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