It’s that time of the year again. Fall, my favorite season. The sound of my feet brushing through the leaves, the smell of the trees along with the light breeze that rejuvenates my soul and reminds me of new beginnings and fresh starts. It reminds me of rebirth and transformation. It reminds me that sometimes when things fall, they bring beauty, charm and comfort and it somehow resembles the changes in my life. The seasons I go through. My internal transformation. My very own rebirth.

It’s that time of the year again. When I look back on all seasons and realize how each one of them brought a different lesson, how each one of them taught me something vital. Winter brought a sense of freedom, I released all the burdens of the year before and decided to start with a little bit of lightness and peace of mind, somehow I liked not being tied down to anything. I liked not being with anyone. I liked enjoying my life and focusing on my own needs. I liked getting to know myself all over again.

Then spring came along with its sunshine, rainbows, butterflies and renewed hopes and dreams. I had amazing connections, met wonderful people and opened up my heart again and it reminded me that I’m still capable of letting people in, being vulnerable and giving even when the old heartbreak still stings. I believed in my heart again. I believed in my ability to recover and just like spring, my heart and my feelings bloomed again just when I thought they were dead.

Then came summer with all its heat and a few waves came crashing down on me that I no longer had the urge to swim but what summer teaches you is there is always a new day, there is always a new adventure, there is always a new trip and love will always be around you. Summer came and I was reminded that if you have the right friends, the right people around you, there’s nothing you can’t survive and there’s nothing you can’t overcome because those are the people that will help you face the biggest waves in your life and you will never drown.

And here comes fall as I am standing on my feet feeling alive again. I curled up with my winter resilience and basked in the sweet taste of spring and washed off the turbulent waves of summer and they all led me here. All the lessons, all the memories, all the tears, all the confusion, all the laughter, all the disappointments and all the surprises I didn’t see coming. They all contributed to my transformation. They all shaped me up and reaffirmed what I’ve always known that if you don’t take care of yourself, if you don’t know how to survive on your own, you’ll never be able to adapt to the seasons of your life and find the joy in each one. You will never be able to warm yourself up in winter or transform into a butterfly in spring or swim through the ebb and flow of summer and you will definitely not be able to liberate yourself as you walk through the breezy days of fall.

It’s that time of the year again. Fall, my favorite season and a dichotomy between the meaning of the word and what it truly embodies. The word ‘fall’ signifies things falling apart or falling down but somehow it’s the season where I rise again, it’s the season where I put myself together again, it’s the season where I do a little movie scene of my own. I’m standing across the fallen leaves, the wind blowing in my hair, I look up the sky with arms wide open and I do a happy dance. I’m alive and breathing. I’m liberated. I free myself from the shackles of my mind. I accept everything that happened. There’s no need to dwell anymore. There’s no need to fight back. There’s no need to find answers. I know my rebirth is just around the corner.

It’s that time of the year again. Fall, my favorite season. A season to let go. A season to start over. A season to hope for more. A season to dream. A season to love your journey. A season to be proud of how far you’ve come. A season to heal your wounds. And ironically a season to rise again higher than you could ever imagine.