Late Year

The calendar claims that the year starts on January 1^st. The reality is that the beginning is in September.

That's when the school year starts, and so that is the reality for everybody who has kids, is a kid, or who works in a school.

When I used to be a salesman, things were slow most of the year in comparison to the fall and early winter seasons. The kick off for all the activity came in September. People just seemed to have made the shift from the laziness of summer, to focusing on everything they'd been letting slide. It was a fresh start.

I've been in Martial Arts for over 30 years, and September has always been the time when the vast majority of people would start their training adventure. Well over half of everybody start in September compared to a similar number spread over the other eleven months.

This year, in Jiu-Jitsu, I was getting scared. September had ended, and we had absolutely no new students. This is a big deal, as our school is situated in a fantastic facility. The rent isn't cheap. There were still a good number of non-new students, but failing to get more in September was daunting.

It is now October, and the situation has changed. In the last week or so we have had four new White Belts on the mat. Why are they arriving now, and not a month ago?

I think it has to do with the school year, more so than the month. The kids going back to hitting the books is a huge societal signal that summer is over. This year, the school year started late.

There has been a nasty labour dispute between the government and the teachers that delayed the start of the school year significantly. Hot, beautiful weather reinforced further the perception that summer wasn't over.

Now the kids are back in school, and the weather has shifted to cold and rain. Fall has started by every definition, and people of every age have started selecting their year's activities.

Things seem OK after all.