Back to School (published in HELLO Alanya, September 2014)

It’s September. And it’s ‘Back to School’ month all over the world. I know, I know.. those years are far behind me. But the special feeling that I get at the beginning of September every year never left me. Though sad that the holidays were over I used to feel excited about making a fresh start.  A bag full of new pencils, unwritten notebooks, empty agenda’s and new hopes, expectations and goals for the year ahead. The first day at school is a day of looking your best and of wearing crispy new clothes. A day of picking up where you left things one summer ago. Only that now, after a long and lazy break, you feel a little bit older and wiser, matured somehow, eager to see your class mates again and to attend the new classes in the next grade.

School or no school, September has always got this ‘back to business’ character. It’s almost like on New Year’s day, but different. It feels like getting a second chance in the middle of the year. A chance to evaluate and to upgrade things, to reset new goals and to get your records straight. Though my days at the University are long over I still feel like hitting the ‘refresh button’ every time when September comes around. And I still like to divide the year into semesters. It’s a good way to stay motivated and to reach your personal goals. So think about what you want to make happen between now and the end of this year. Make sure your goals are realistic and come up with an action plan that you can follow up on. It can be a big project like buying a new house or renovating your home or maybe improving your Turkish vocabulary. Or something small but important to you, maybe something you that you have been postponing for while like learning to cook some Turkish dishes.

As for me, I’ve got three little points so far. The first is to finally organize that ridiculous amount of pictures I took since we had been blessed with arrival of our baby boy late last year. And I need to print some of them. For framing and to put together an album of his first year. Now that the chaos that comes with a baby has been replaced by a new found routine, my fingers are itching to get started on that project.
The second thing on my list is going on a little trip with my boys to the ‘Ege’ side of the country this fall. I wanted to go there with Bülent last year already but we couldn’t make it. This year it will be the three of us and I am so much looking forward to the road trip, walking through pretty cobble stone streets with white houses and blue window frames and eating a kumru sandwich by the sea. Perfect to unwind and remind myself that life is best when lived in all its simplicity.
The last thing is a project close to my heart. I want to redesign my blog canimbenim.blog.com. I’ve been having so many problems with the host that it affected my ability and joy of blogging over there. If you take a look you will see that my last entry was during my pregnancy last year. Such a shame. Meanwhile readers have been contacting me, asking when I start blogging again. And I love them for that. It’s the best motivation I could ask for. And what better time to start with it than right this month. I will keep you posted about the developments on my blog’s page on facebook. Oh, and one more thing is that I really want to improve my photography skills.

So you see, we never stop learning, growing, changing, planning and experiencing after we graduate. Cause we’re all students of the school of life. It’s a good thing we have the first week of September to remind us of that. And to give us a chance to continue what we were doing but with new awareness and with fresh energy. Happy Back To School everyone!