Ah Autumn. It’s here.

I love Autumn. The Autumn – Winter seasons are my favourite. Whilst I love the summer sun, I’d take curling up by an open fire, long walks in the crisp cold morning air, hot drinks and candles, any day. I’m sure my bias in favour of the colder months stems from A) my love of Christmas and B) my birthday, but regardless, I’m a sucker for all things cozy and snuggly.

Granted, fewer daylight hours is a major setback for A/W, and I can fully understand why people hate these months. When it’s windy, rainy, cold AND dark, it can be grim.

And yet, there is something that warms the cockles of my heart about a Saturday evening in mid-November, open fire roaring, the smell of warm soup and toasting bread wafting in through the door from the kitchen, blankets piled high, fuzzy socks, massive jumpers layer upon layer, with a warm mug of something in your hands, and the tea candles flickering.

Nothing beats it, and it’s what I love about living in a temperate country. I’m not quite sure how I’d feel about 30 degree weather come December, it just doesn’t feel quite right!

Today I took a walk around the city centre, and for the first time in a while (thanks to the brief Indian Summer a couple of weeks back), it really felt like Autumn. I was glad to be layered up, glad I had brought my coat with me. The leaves are starting to turn to that deep orange colour, mixed in with shades of brown and golden yellow. They littered the pavement and made a great contrast to the bleak grey sky.

Every season comes a change. A transition. What I’ve experienced in recent years is that often, somehow, with each change of season comes a feeling of transition for me personally. Whether it be from student to graduate, London to Leicester (though not for too long I hope) or even in relationship to single, all of these things at different times in my life have coincided with a change of season.

This season the most prevalent one is by far going from a student to an unemployed graduate, and having to move from such a bustling, sprawling, massive city like London to relatively slow paced life of Leicester.

Anyone who has to move home after uni will tell you the same thing. It’s bloody hard. All that freedom and independence (not to mention student loan) is gone. And it suddenly becomes necessary not just to find a job, but more broadly speaking to find some way of bringing purpose back into your life, and to your days.

This is no small task. And to be frank, I’m struggling a little!

If anyone has any advice, inspirational stories, or just wants to sympathise with me please let me know!

My only hope is that it’ll all be okay in the end. That counts as a plan right? Well in any case, I’m glad I have an open fire, a near constant supply of hot drinks and a mountain of knitwear to turn to this autumn. Because there’s nothing like burrowing down under those layers to make all your worries feel far away.

• Jeans – And Other Stories
• Shirt – Vintage
• Jumper – Zara (old)
• Shoes – Asos
• Bag – Vintage

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