September is here which, by my definition, means that autumn has officially begun. I'm not a fan of pumpkin spice lattes, but I am a fan of oversized sweaters and wearing boots like they are going out of style. I love summer –– don't get me wrong –– but by the time my birthday rolls around in mid-August I am ready for cooler weather and changing leaves.

But before we get too far into autumn, let's revisit my August goals and see how I did.

1. Up my fitness game. I am going to give myself an A+ on this one. I worked out for at least 30 minutes a day –– minus Sundays –– and walked over 18 miles in one weekend without dying.

2. Be more vocal. This is a hard one to judge, but I think I'm getting there. I still keep too many of my thoughts and emotions to myself but, as The Killers say, I'm coming out of my cage and I've been doing... well, I've been doing alright.

3. Spend more time with friends. I spent the weekend in NYC with a couple of my friends, so that counts, right? This is still something I need to work on.

Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty: my September goals.

1. Do more art. As someone with a degree in English, I'm not sure if 'do more art' is a proper sentence, but it is what it is. New York was such an inspiring atmosphere and visiting the Artists & Fleas markets in the city gave me the itch to start creating. I've never seen myself as an artist –– mainly because I have very little to no artistic ability –– but I've also never really given myself an opportunity to not be good. Instead of creating something awful, I just don't create anything at all... And I'm not really being fair to myself if I don't let myself fail and learn from that failure.

2. Put myself out there. This one is pretty vague, but it kind of goes hand in hand with the last one. I don't like for people to see my weaknesses and my failures, so I tend to keep things pretty close to my chest –– that's the saying, right? I haven't really promoted this blog because, you know, what if it sucks? And I rarely submit writing to literary magazines because I'm too afraid it won't be chosen. But, duh, if I don't submit, it definitely won't be chosen. This fear of failure is keeping my stagnant and I don't want it to continue –– so I won't let it.

3. Find another source of income. Being an entrepreneur means not always having a lot of money. Luckily, I have a number of passions that I wish to pursue which give me a lot of options for passive income... Or maybe not-so-passive income. Who knows? Regardless, I want to focus on one or two side hustles that will not only fulfill the creative itch I have but also provide me with a little extra money here and there.

That's it for September! Now that my birthday season is over, I feel reinvigorated. After all, a birthday is the real start to a new year.