September I really got in the swing of “Back-to-School” and my Fall schedule, celebrating the high summer into fall, looking back at Quarter 3 and forward to Quarter 4 with a new year on it’s way before we know it.
September slips from Summer to Fall
Here in Cologne, Germany, the weather was right on cue, September heralding early Fall with cooling temperatures, grey and rainy days in the mix of golden and gleaming ones, both showing off the first changing and falling leaves.

The warmest quarter of the year was gratifyingly summery right up until the Autumn Equinox. Staying close to home in Cologne in quarter three (whereas Q2 was packed with travel and we’ll enjoy at least a weekend getaway in Q4), we got outside a lot for walks, some of which included Rufio the cat, picnics, botanical and rose garden visits, and showing visiting friends and family our pretty city.
My girlfriend’s sister’s wedding in August was definitely a highlight of the quarter, along Ela and my 6th Anniversary in September and both PRIDE and Nonbinary People’s Day in July.
A dear friend who is one of the reasons I originally visited and now live in Germany, visited with her young daughter in September and we showed them some sights and playgrounds. Then my Mom’s cousin and his wife dropped in during their Rhine river cruise and we had a nice Kölsch in the old city.
Plus we celebrated late Summer with Ela’s stepdad at a Sommerfest in his garden, enjoyed dinner and a show with her mother, tours of artists’ studios and historic monuments with friends, and a traditional-style Oktoberfest a friends’ house in a nearby village. This year we wore new Lederhosen and I donned my Bavarian hiking hat, very authentic!
The presidential election in the US continued to loom, I submitted my German tax returns, and my Dad had an important surgery this quarter, at least the latter two for now coming to a promising conclusion.
Bullet Journaling & Planning
In September I continued to update my Monthly, Weekly, and Daily logs and Annual Collections and set up my October pages in my notebooks.
The above YouTube Video is a flip-through of the month and Q3 in my Seasonal Book, with my goals, glows, media favorites, and events.
I also updated my data tracking in a cumulative Google Sheet, and created a BuJo spread for Self-Care September and a Q3 Review at-a-glance, both below.
Deeper reflection continues as I work on my annual projects in Q4 and start to consider 2025 while also enjoying the present moment.

Teaching & Coaching
In September I hit my stride with a fairly regularly recurring weekly schedule and good energy. It is a delightful challenge to get to know new students and truly a delight to see devoted learners return. Even with a Summer Break at some schools & studios in the mix, the quarter as a whole was very active, with a new record for classes taught since moving to Germany.
Regular Mindful Movement classes in Balletlicious Ballet Barre+ and Yummy Gentle Yoga continued throughout, studio classes in Ballet and Barre a Terre took a two-week break before resuming. School began again and I introduced new elective offerings, also scheming about the Back-to-School into Fall season and the remainder of the year.
There are a couple of coaching slots available this season and I will keep you posted on further offerings as they come together!
Writing & Publishing Articles
In September I published three articles to the blog, for a total of 8 in Quarter 3:
- An August Month – 2024 Month 8 Review captures memories of summer vacation
- Building Momentum by Seizing the Back-to-School Mood: Ambiance, Supplies & Action is a celebration of scholarly pursuits in and out of academia
- Self-Care September – Practicing Exquisite Well-Being in Order to Serve is about practices that promote well-being to empower service, learning, and creativity.
Filming & Sharing Videos
My YouTube Channel and Blog have been where I’ve seen the most growth in visibility and with your help I may be able to reach 1,000 subscribers to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel before the end of 2024!
I published four videos to the A Blythe Coach YouTube Channel in September, bringing the total for Quarter 3 to 14:
Connecting: Email & Social Media
I sent four weekly Email Newsletters in September, full of value-packed resources for fellow creatives. This brought my Q3 total to 12.
The best way to keep up-to-date on everything I’m coaching, teaching, creating and sharing about as well as my favorite work from other creators is to subscribe to my weekly email newsletter.
Would truly love to be connected to you there, here, on social media, online or in-person!

Creative Challenges
Having completed my Alphabet Superset and Camp NaNoWriMo in July, in August I focused on rest and recovery, reading and writing, planning for upcoming challenges and behind-the-scenes development.
Then in September I participated in and shared about Self-Care September, bringing the number of such creative challenges that I took on in Quarter 3 to three, on-track with my vague idea that about one per month is a fun objective.
Self-Care September
Self-Care September – Practicing Exquisite Well-Being in Order to Serve is the article I wrote about how I’ve taken on this self-loving challenge in 2023 & 2024, it’s origins, and continuing healthy habits all year long.

Twenty-Four 24s in 2024
In July I sent my 24th Email Newsletter and in August I published my 24th YouTube video of 2024, bringing my total of “completed” 24s to 13 in Q4, with Blog Articles published or Books read likely being next (2 more after to reach 24 in both categories!)… Of course I’ll continuing sharing videos and publishing articles and the rest beyond the arbitrary twenty-four goal, this creative challenge is just a playful way to track various metrics I wish to keep an eye on, inspired by Jess/JashiiCorrin on YouTube.
Considering how to structure such an overarching challenge for myself in 2025, I may reduce the number of categories to 20, and raise the actions by one for a catchy “Twenty 25s in 2025.”

Media Musings
What caused a sensation in September, in terms of reading, listening, and viewing and some of my picks for Quarter 3:
Books & Reading
A new article I published in August, Summer Fun in or out of the Sun, features some of my all-time favorite hot-weather reads and I’ve found a couple new discoveries this year to add to the list.
Books Read
I completed two novels in September, bringing my quarterly total to 4:
- Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston was a cute alternate-reality political gay romance and fun to read together with my sweetie (we also read another book of theirs last year, One Last Stop), after which we viewed the 2023 film version with a critical eye, and then uncarley’s commentary, also humorous
- Sandwich by Catherine Newman is one of my favorite books I’ve read so far this year, a story about three generations spending a summer week in a cabin on the cape and also about the beautiful, grotesque, transcendent, profane, hilarious tragedy of life, with a menopausal main character.

Listening Highlights
Favorite things heard over the course of the month go here, such as concerts, songs, pieces of music, playlists, podcasts and more.
Music: Songs & Albums
In September I was still enjoying some sweet Summer jams while planning lots of musical fun for Fall. Interestingly, I didn’t record any standout new tracks, just kept hearing all the ear worms by Chappell Roan such as:
Playlists
- Balletlicious Summertime Dance had it’s last hurrah for the year in August
- 2024 Summer Jams is like a little time capsule of what I was hearing in summer this year
- ABC Choreo Music Ideas continued to be a receptacle of diverse inspirations
- Savoring September is for swooningly beautiful and dancey entry into Autumn
- Mood music for creativity and productivity is a new playlist of tracks that I’m using for writing sprints and other times I need focus and inspiration and includes different seasonal moods
- I’ve added a few new tracks recently to my Morning Music Playlist and will likely need more morning motivation as the nights get longer

Viewing Highlights
My personal highlights in Quarter 3 viewing were seeing the Trocks live at the Koelner Philharmonie, and the Olympic Opening performances from Paris covered on YouTube (so much dancing and musical talent!) Here’s some of what I saw last month, wrapping up Quarter 3.
Films
September Movies watched were enjoyable and full of action, suitable to the time and place but not necessarily highlights of the quarter or year:
- “Rebel Ridge”
- “The Union”
Series
Series on streaming services and so forth I savored in September:
- “Young Rock,” a fictional future bio series about Dwayne Johnson as a presidential candidate telling stories from his youth, is light entertainment
- “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” though far from a new release, is still so ahead of its time and turning into a surprisingly soothing way to unwind before bed
- The “Monsters: the Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” series on Netflix is disturbing but fascinatingly nuanced in perspective as well and a chilling true crime for those into that sort of thing, which we also followed up with the new The Menendez Brothers documentary

Questions for Reflection
- What summer (or last season) memories are you preserving?
- How are you planning for a productive fall (or next season) and end-of-year?
- What will you pursue, and what will you let go?
- How can I support you in taking flight this year?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Quantum Leaping into 2024 Word of the Year Article
- Twenty-Four 24s in 2024 Article
- To-Enjoy List for Quarter 4 2024 Article
- Juicy June and Quarter 2 Flew Article
- March was about Mindfulness, Quarter 1 Wrap-Up Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
- Blogging My Purpose – the “Why” behind A Blythe Coach Article
- Why Bother Distinguishing Your Why? Personal Purpose Article
- Goal-Setting for Dancers Article
- Analog Journals for Creativity Article
- Self-Care September Article
Special offerings for Autumn, Winter, springing into a New Year, and more coming up soon!
Blythe Stephens, MFA & Bliss Catalyst
she/her or they/them
Creator of A Blythe Coach @ablythecoach
helping multi-passionate creatives dance through their difficulties,
taking leaps of faith into fulfillment through coaching, yoga & dance education