As a lifelong learner, educator and academic at heart, Back-to-School will always be an exciting concept for me. Living based in a temperate climate like I do in Cologne, Germany, as soon as I feel the first chill in the air and sight a colored leaf or Back-to-School sale, I feel a surge of energy, motivation, and curiosity.
Whether we currently find ourselves in an academic environment or not, this time of year is an opportunity we all can seize if it suits us, to invigorate our inspiration to create and grow.
Media to Set the Tone for Learning
Let’s get nerdy and settle in for a cozy but creatively productive autumn! I’m starting here with some musical selections and playlists, then affirmations and mindful movement, dance and yoga to set a motivated tone for learning, growth, and enjoying life this season.
Music
Put on tracks that move you action, help you to focus, or assist you in feeling all the feelings. It could be music to evoke a mood, soundscapes to relax, or noise-cancelling to turn down the volume on the outside world.
Perhaps songs from my Savoring September or Mood Music for Creativity and Productivity Playlists may fill the bill (I’ve particularly been enjoying Writing on a dark academia train recently!):
Positive Affirmations for Growth
Get in a growth mindset with affirmations you can get behind that feel good:
- Positive Affirmations for Students from Gratitude on YouTube
- “Affirmation Song” from Doggyland
Limber up for Learning
Below are a few ideas for yoga poses and dance sequences to prepare the body for focus, learning, and creativity.
Take a peek at my Autumn Equinox Magic – Rituals to Romance the Transition from Summer to Fall Article and Wonderful Warmers and other Playlists on YouTube for heaps more inspirational movement!
Yoga & Dance
Supplies to Unleash Creativity
I’ve recently been sharing my creative supplies and EDC/Everyday Carry essentials, so along those lines, here are some of the items I’ve recently stocked up on to fuel my writing & creativity.
This is not a big “haul” or to encourage overconsumption, as I’m not looking to greatly expand my collection of stationery and supplies. I just needed ways to keep my creative process going smoothly, particularly upgrades and re-stocking writing, dancing, and teaching tools and have sought thoughtful solutions.
Pens, Paper & Tech
These key items will help me accomplish my back-to-school, fall, and end-of-year plans:
- Microphone: I recently upgraded to a Rode Wireless ME to improve sound quality of online teaching and video recordings. My old mic died a while back and I researched a solution/upgrade that should provide clearer audio, always learning and improving when it comes to online teaching and coaching.
- A replacement iPhone Screen meant a new iPhone for A Blythe Coach, including Pro-grade camera, pairable with new Mic, above, and overall better functioning for business
- Black cotton dancey Socks: I don’t mention them in the video, but I did stock up on this staple as well, my current favorite dance teaching footwear because they are comfortable, versatile for ballet, barre, conditioning, modern dance and yoga, and readily washable
- LAMY AL-star Fountain Pen 🖊️ yes I am now embarking on a fountain pen “journey” as a result of my love of writing and thirst for ink. I first bought this one, blacked out, then got the one below, switched this nib from Medium to Extra Fine to be usable in a variety of situations (fine-liner for Bullet Journaling, scribbling notes on stickies, conserving ink on Morning Pages, different paper types). I chose LAMY pens because of their excellent reputation for writing utensils of lasting quality, made in Germany, so well-priced and conveniently located for me. Sold along with a decent array of stationery in my local department store unpackaged and manufactured efficently for less waste, I did buy them new but hope to get year of use out of them, replace disposable pens and cartridges, and use a converter system and bottles of ink for maximum economy and sustainability
- LAMY Vista Fountain Pen because I want to write in multiple colors and thicknesses at one time and this one I plan to leave a juicy Medium – the “demonstrator” clear barrel looks so pretty with ink sloshing around inside of it!
- LAMY Converters for refilling the pens using bottled ink, since the goal is to make my writing more sustainable in this way versus plastic cartridges or the ballpoint refills I was previously using
- A couple bottles of Octopus Fluids Document Ink because I prefer permanent, waterproof ink in case of rain or other life events which have certainly befallen my journals in the past and this particular brand has a good reputation and is readily accessible to me in Germany, starting with Black & Violett colors.
- Looking for a fountain-pen friendly Moleskine Cahier Notebook alternative I wound up with an A5 Rhodia dot-grid notebook with Clarefontaine paper to try out as my next seasonal Bullet Journal notebook (November+) and if it goes well I’ll switch over for my annual book for 2025 as well…
New Notebook Lineup
Speaking of writing, note-taking, planning, tracking, memory-keeping, teaching and coaching resource-wrestling, here’s my current journal lineup:
Your “School” Supplies
In the market for your own Back-to-School Stock-up and looking for quality tools? Consider these professional recommendations:
- Back-to-School Shopping from Goulet Pens
- Fountain pens for back to school from Hemingway Jones
- (Independent) Study Essentials from Ruby Granger
Create Your Course & Curriculum
You’re an adult, so you get to choose to study and pursue whatever topics you like! Maybe you’re looking for ideas for your own fall learning, you wish to write your heart out this season, dabble in a different techniques, or dive deep into a subject:
- The Everygirl shares a variety of places to look for Channeling Back-to-School vibes as an adult
- Design your own writing semester with Kate Cavanaugh Writes
- How I take notes for self-learning from Mariana Vieira
Fall 2024 Topics of Study
As for me, here are some particular areas of focus I’m excited to get into this semester:
- Reading: Nancy Drew, The Cat Who and other cozy mysteries, my new poetry collection A Toast to Autumn by Alexis Jean, alchemy and magic
- Writing: Articles, Stories/Memoir, Poems, Letters, Morning Pages, Journaling
- Dance: Tango, RAD Syllabus (Grade 1,3), Tanzarchiv, Barre a Terre and ballet/dance conditioning
- Coaching: Well-Being, Leader Care, Artist Care
- Creating: Videos, Choreographies, Playlists…
- Cooking, Baking, and Eating: Muffins, Cookies, Popcorn, Soups, Cocoa
- Getting Outside: Walks, Bicycle Rides, Leaf-Peeping, Birdwatching (migrating geese and other wildlife)
Dark Academia Vibes
Getting into the aesthetic of the season, whatever that means to you, can help adopt a positive attitude about the change of weather. For me, getting all cozy when the days are growing cooler and darker goes a long way toward my mental health, productivity, creativity, and enjoyment of life.
It seems I’m several years or more late to the specific aesthetic or subculture of dark academia, but looking back at my life, I’ve often been on the fringes in practice. Jane Eyre, Nancy Drew and then Agatha Christie mysteries, and Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who cozy mysteries (thanks, Tutu) were among my selections as a child. Fall, especially, seems to be a time of mystery and murder, but also being a sensitive soul, I still tend toward consuming the cozy kind)
A fanciful youth, I romanticized study, writing, letters, poetry and as an adult I’ve proven to be a lifelong learner and academic with a terminal degree.
This year, dark academia is absolutely how I’ll be romanticizing Autumn (reading, writing, learning, pens!), inspired in part by:
- Hemingway Jones
- Ruby Granger
- The Book Leo who also created their own Spotify playlist
- Darling Desi
- Rowan Ellis (analysis and criticism of the aesthetic/subculture)
But you may wish to choose another aesthetic or subculture to romanticize your life and inspire you to action in alignment with your goals.
Questions for Reflection
- What’s on your Back-to-School supply list?
- Which sounds, music, or soundtrack inspire you to study, write, or create?
- What essential items nourish your creativity and productivity?
- How do you organize your thoughts, ideas, plans, and studies?
- What’s your “anti-haul” or what do you NOT need to flourish creatively?
Resources for Further Exploration
- Autumn Equinox Magic – Rituals to Romance the Transition from Summer to Fall Article
- Current Notebook Lineup – Analog Journals for Creativity Article
- Fall 2022 Curriculum – Self Study & Practices of a Creative Professional Article
- Glisser – smoothly gliding into Autumn Article
- Say the Magic Words Article
Thank you for reading, I am glad you are here and I look forward to hearing about your own favorite fall rituals and traditions!
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
DISCLAIMER: A Blythe Coach recommends that you consult your physician regarding the applicability of any recommendations and follow all safety instructions before beginning any exercise program. When participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself.
