It’s the fall. How does this make you feel?

Me personally? I love it.

I love the cooler weather. I love the orange and yellow leaves.

I love the new season.

It feels like a new start.

New school year, new job year, all that good stuff. It’s also scary though. It gets dark a lot quicker.

Seasonal mood swings and shifts are things that many people feel and go through. I get it. It can be tough for some people.

As of writing, it isn’t even officially fall yet. Summer ends late September. 

But as a student, I always feel like once school starts, the summer is over.

So my question for you, my dear reader, is how can you make the autumnal transition in a good way?

There are a couple of ways. It all depends on what your situation is. If you’re a student, specifically in college, it’s simple.

Study hard. Succeed in your classes and your academic pursuits.

Do everything you can to ensure you do well. But, also enjoy yourself. You’re young. Do your best to enjoy your youth.

Go out with your friends, date people, meet new people, and have a good time.

Don’t slack on your studies, but have a good time.

Let’s say you’re a bit older, and you have a full-time career.

I would recommend just to keep doing what you’ve been doing. Keep succeeding at your job, keep making connections, and keep killing it.

Hopefully, you are already doing these things, but the point still stands.

The advice I gave before is relevant here though.

Many people I know who have long-lasting careers feel burnt out by them, especially kids my age with jobs already.

So, going out and spending time with friends and family is a great way to fight this.

Life is all about balance.

It’s an entire balancing act when you think about it. The problem that we, as humans, have, is that we are constantly trying to do so much.

We’re always trying to reach the next best thing. So when we get after our goals and pursue them, we feel great.

Until we get them.

We feel good for a minute, but then we want to pursue the next best thing.

Stop that.

Have goals, of course, but once you achieve them, don’t immediately rush into the next thing.

Take a step back and enjoy what you have. Specifically, the people in your life. Spend time with them.

Enjoy them.

They aren’t around for long.

*Written by Nicolas Scagnelli

Nick is a student and a writer at Binghamton University ’24. He has supported the military spouse community through his position at Ohana Homefront and now Defenders of Resilience. 

He can be reached at nicolasscagnelli@gmail.com or can be accessed through his Personal Blog or his Professional Blog

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