hello november: turning over a new leaf (a.k.a, the art of trying)

Hi cuties! I hope you all had a fun and spooky Halloween! I really enjoyed seeing everyone's costumes and reading about y'all's Halloweekend plans. Due to some life stuff, I decided to have a very chill day. I watched a classic horror movie (The Evil Dead [1981], an... interesting movie, to say the least, lol) and enjoyed some sweet treats.

Me on Nov. 1st

October really felt like it flew by, and I can't believe it's already November! November has always felt like a weird month to me. There's spring, then summer, September welcomes fall, October is Spooky Time, and then suddenly... November. We're not quite in winter or Christmas territory yet, but we're getting close. The end of the year is looming, and the finish line is finally in sight. It feels like an in-between month, an appetizer meant to prepare you for the main course. But this particular November feels a little different.

For a lot of people, the first of the month means two things: 1) the dreaded rent is due and 2) it's time for a reset. A new month can signify change, a chance to Lock In and start working toward a new version of yourself.

I'll be honest: there have been a few times this year when I swore I was finally going to transform my life. I've made little improvements here and there, but I haven't quite experienced the kind of change I've been craving. Maybe you can relate. You get that sudden burst of motivation and decide it's time to turn everything around. You write down a list of goals and habits you want to develop: a killer fitness routine, better sleep schedule, less doomscrolling, more reading, drinking more water, picking up new hobbies, and so on. You take a few baby steps, but old habits die hard. Before you know it, the 30 or 31 days are up, and you're left wondering if anything has actually changed.

I've come to accept that I can't transform my entire life overnight. Becoming the person I want to be is going to take time, patience, and consistency. Progress might be slow, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. I just have to keep going, even when the results aren't as dramatic as I'd hoped.

Still, something about this November feels different.

For starters, the month begins on a Sunday, and I love that. It's always satisfying when a new month starts on the first day of the week. It feels like a clean slate, like everything is exactly where it's supposed to be. Daylight saving time also ends this weekend, which means an extra hour to enjoy...or, let's be real, an extra hour to sleep!

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the timing of it all makes this feel like the perfect opportunity for a reset. Not necessarily a dramatic, new year, new me kind of transformation, but a chance to look inward and start making intentional changes before 2027 rolls around. There's something in the air right now that feels inspiring. Maybe there's some astrological explanation for it (Mercury, Venus, the moon, somebody in the sky must be doing something right), but for the first time in a while, I genuinely feel like I can try to make these changes and actually succeed. I'm promising myself that by January 1st, I'll be in a better place mentally, physically, and emotionally. Not a perfect place, necessarily, but a better one.  

For now, I'm taking November as an invitation to refocus and give myself a little grace along the way. Here's to making the most of these last two months of the year, cuties. Let's see what we can do! 

(And, of course, it wouldn't be the start of the holiday season without me dusting off the best Christmas album of all time: The Jackson 5 Christmas Album. If I'm going to turn over a new leaf, I might as well have a festive soundtrack to accompany the journey!)

TTYL,

Eryn <3