As August comes to a close I enter my most reflective time of year. September has always been my favorite month, partly because it’s my birthday month, but also because it traditionally signaled a new school year and a fresh start. As a big nerd growing up I loved the start of school and the impending new things I was certain to learn.

As I’ve grown up this rhythm has remained and so here I am, today reflecting on where I was at this time 10 years ago. It just so happens I was on plane leaving Europe and heading back to the states to start school… grad school that is.

Late July, 2013 I packed up my cubicle, returned to my nearly empty apartment, and prepared for a month abroad. I saved up all summer, selling a massive part of my vintage wardrobe on Etsy. Not going to lie, some of those pieces I still think about occasionally. But nonetheless I was in a purge state of mind. I was 25, in the thick of my minimalist phase, and looking to feel free. And free I felt.

Over a month I bopped from Iceland, England, Italy, and France. I stopped in cities where I had friends of a deep desire to explore. Traveling solo was just the appetizer. I got into my dream school, and was about to attend my dream program.

September has always marked new beginnings for me, and this year is no different. This month I will officially enter my late 30s and I can honestly say this period of life, while the hardest I’ve ever experienced, is my absolute favorite.

And it seems only fitting that today I announced the closing of my business, the business that I launched exactly 5 years ago today. It’s time for a fresh start and a new chapter in the new phase of life I am in. I would say it is bittersweet, but knowing what I know now about fresh starts and the great adventures they can bring, I am actually more excited for what’s next than what has been.

Ten years later and September is still living up to the hype.