Despite the fact that it’s 90 degrees outside, the minute the fall semester starts, my brain immediately clicks into autumn mode, and my wardrobe quickly follows suit. I think it’s been this way since childhood – whether the crisp temperatures have caught up or not, there is just a feeling that comes with a new school year. Without fail, late August always brought with it shiny new trapper keepers and as-yet-unused pens. Fresh fears and new possibilities. You can practically clock the smell of the academic anxiety as clearly as a you can identify the smell of new box of pencils. Like that first leaf falling from the tree, Autumn has a momentum all its own and we are powerless to stop it.
Last week we plunged headfirst into the fall semester – for many of us, this was an entirely foreign world, as we’re not greeting our students and doing our best to calm the trepidation on their faces (maybe this isn’t true for all professors, but just saying the title of my course, ‘Neurobiology” seems to strikes fear into their hearts). Instead, we’re staring down a computer screen and hoping against hope we can reach through the tangle of Zoom chats and video lectures to find some way to connect. I am teaching over 100 college seniors fully online this semester and am already feeling the burnout that usually catches up to me about 2 months in. Suffice to say: what was “normal” is no more…
Autumn leaves don’t fall,
they fly.
They take their time
and wander on this
their only chance to soar.
Delia Owens
I‘ve been doing my best to try to find my footing in this new normal – despite barely knowing what day it is half the time. All you can do is embrace the feeling of instability. Kind of like the first time you wore high heels – at first you feel like a baby giraffe, teetering around and preparing to fall flat on your face at any moment. But, eventually you find your balance in an unstable world. Because whether I like it or not, inertia is carrying us into a semester and isn’t really concerned whether we feel prepared.
So, I’ve done what I’ve always done in times of stress and insecurity: derived power in the perfect autumnal vintage dress from Coutura Vintage, organized myself within an inch of my life (I have lists for my lists), and done everything I can to appear fully in control while quietly freaking out on the inside.
I look totally calm, right? Excellent. Fake it till you make it, people….
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Dress + Bolero: Coutura Vintage (similar modern and vintage here, here & here)
Belt: Alannah Hill (similar)
Handbag: Looks Like Summer, sold out (similar)
Shoes: boutique in Melbourne (similar here & here)
Lip Color: Nars Niagara
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Any items marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review and/or feature on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog.