Breathing in the first month of a new year is as good as chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, ocean spray as it hits the air, and a brand new baby all snuggled up after a warm bath. It’s the promise of that new dawn, the beginning of something powerful, and a chance at all those do-overs we all at times require. How will you write that first page?

It’s December. The last month of the last quarter of 2018 is here, and the holiday season is upon us. Much of the country is littered in cold and snowy weather, many people are rushing out to purchase gifts to show their gratitude, and resolutions are in process for 2019’s arrival. It’s the time of year where endings and beginnings mesh together—and often the lines between the two blur. 

What does autumn mean to you? For me, for years in New York, autumn meant the arrival of crisp air, the changing colors of leaves, homecomings, the impending holidays and pumpkin spiced everything. In San Diego, there’s still an arrival of moderately cooler air, you can drive an hour or so and watch the leaves change yet your fish tacos are just as tasty as they were a few months ago and your flip-flops never leave your feet. Here, summer reigns supreme and that outdoor lifestyle doesn’t change much throughout the year.

It’s October. For many, October means pumpkin spiced everything, apple cider always, and endless fall festivals. It brings about leaf-peeping season, Boston’s Head of the Charles crew race, and the simplest and grandest of costume parties. Having moved to San Diego, my October means the same as my August and September - just the way I like it, but it means that those who wish for the wonder of a crisp fall day need to seek it out to make it happen.