October?

Initially, it was hard for me to accept the distinct signs that the fall equinox had come and gone. I clung to warm forecasts on my computer screen, rather than pay attention to the thick layer of deciduous leaves layering the ground outside. I ignored the fresh but crisp sting, that cool air makes when it's inhaled.

I think of BBQ season wrapping up. I think of pumpkins. I think of school and I think of change. This isn't something I've reflected on until now, but more changes than the colour of leaves when the tenth month of the year ambles along.

I'm an idea man. I like thinking about absurd and outrageous things that might or might not be feasible. That's usually what summer is for. Traditionally, during the last handful of years I've been exceedingly busy from the months of October to April. The warm months have allowed me free time to ponder my goals and debate my next sequence of moves in the carefully orchestrated chess match, that is my life. I try my best to be confident.

September has rolled by easier than I expected. Facebook status updates and Twitter announcements pulled at strings of nostalgia within me; but, the effect was minimal. I'm too involved with my own reality. I'm caught up in the rat race.

Not really though.

September has always been a party. In undergraduate life, it was not until the post-homecoming haze wore off, that you realized halloween was a long ways off and midterms loomed. October has always been the time to get serious. The fake deadlines you set for yourself, -and failed to meet- have come and gone. The feeling is amplified: The sun shines bright but it's intensity perpetually wanes off. It sprints for the horizon, in stark contrast to the careless amble that marks the summer months. My urge to make the most of daylight grows stronger. A sense of urgency fills me. I want to make the the most of it. For soon enough, I will be hibernating; hunkering down and grinding.

As winter continues it's eminent march towards us, I feel compelled to act now, more than ever. As the seasons change, so does my mindset.

A new cycle is upon us, filled with "Octobertunity." You've had time to think, you've had a month to get acclimatized. Now class is in session.