November for college students typically indicates an important part of the school year, usually changing the stress level from 10 on a scale from 1 to 10 to 13. There’s Thanksgiving break to look forward to, but the enjoyment can be reduced by the stress of making and paying for travel plans as well as the midterms, essays, and projects that are assigned around those dates. But this month is great for many different reasons. These reasons are only available and observable if we take a moment to breathe in between all the other things going on in our lives. In doing so, we can go back into our regular routines with a bit more purpose and positive energy that will carry us farther than you would expect.

Thanksgiving

The actual holiday itself is still a great day. Whatever your family or your own thanksgiving traditions include, it brings you together with people you wish you could see more often and it’s a time you get to relax. I do enjoy the food and the football but as the years pass the opportunity to gather with the most important people in my life has made this experience ten times more meaningful to me. I wish I had that kind of mentality previously and in more situations, but you never know a good thing until it’s gone. Many of my college friends have gotten homesick, but for me that has not quite been the case, fortunately attending college less than an hour away from home. But I could be in college 20 minutes away from home and I would still feel the change of being away from not just my family but other familiar surroundings.

Because of this, whenever I visit home I almost feel like a tourist visiting cities like Portland or Charlotte or San Antonio. It’s not quite as overwhelming as a huge city or foreign nation, but the excitement, curiosity, and good vibes come flooding in. So the challenge for me and for all is to remember and cherish these feelings and moments, because when November 27 comes along and either your Black Friday shopping or national park tour comes to an end, you won’t just look forward to the next opportunity but you will still feel those feelings. And of course, you’ll be thankful for that and for many other blessings in your life.

The Nature of November

This will vary from place to place, but as fall comes closer to winter, we are given beautiful scenery. The noticeable shift that trees go through during this time prompt me to notice the other nature around it as well. Admittedly we are a bit lucky to have the Arboretum in UC Davis and other landmarks/parks in California. But wherever you may be reading this, know that there is beauty all around us. The weather dropping and the Daylight Savings also has some pleasant effects once we get used to living in darkness at around 5 pm. It can be a welcome change, exchanging some typical outdoor activities to the likes of sitting by bonfires or enjoying warm drinks (hot chocolate being one of my weaknesses). Through these qualities, November has a soothing spirit that is more easily felt than described. It can be hard to put into words, but it is real. Like the conductor from the Polar Express said, “sometimes the most real things in the world are things we can’t see”.

Reflection

Forgive me for nerding out, but sometimes the way I see life, there is a key similarity life shares with some games I enjoy playing, such as chess and Pokemon. That similarity is that you have to think and move a few steps ahead of the way things are right now. That doesn’t mean don’t enjoy the present. Another quote: “Today is a gift. That is why it’s called the present”. All these lessons and advice can seem to be contradictory but there’s a way to synchronize these steps and that begins with reflection.

The time to reflect does not have to be after a major event, but it could be a regular ritual, perhaps once or twice a week. It does not mean to hold on to grudges or to live in the past but use those lessons to create a better present and future for yourself. Moving schools, deaths of loved ones, ended relationships, or not getting a job/role I applied for are a few difficult times in my life, but I choose to live by “Forgive, Not Forget”. This may sound vengeful, but I am not a vengeful person. Those who forget or ignore history are doomed to repeat it, but those who learn from it are bound to change it. If I could live in either reality, it would be the latter.

Moving Forward

As the year begins winding down and the next month’s celebration and holiday heavy culture awaits, I find November a more useful time for me to think about life moving forward than thinking about a new year’s resolution a few hours before the ball drops in Times Square. The time to make change in your life can be any time of year, but there is something about this month that can make changes more lasting and powerful. Whether it be its position on the calendar, the holiday we observe during this month, or the general feel and mood that fills the air, I hope that you can take something meaningful from it.

Every time I blink it feels like time passes even more swiftly than before. There is no stopping or slowing down time, but we have the option to embrace it. We have the opportunity to embrace our current reality. We will always strive for a better one but be sure to find those parts of your life right now that give you the courage, motivation, and power to take the next step.

It’s a combination of these qualities, events, and more that come around this time of year that give me what I need to take the next step.

Happy November, Happy Holidays, Best Wishes, and Stay Classy, reading audience!