One morning in late August, I walk outside and you can feel it in the air. The feel has changed; the mood has shifted. And so another fall is upon us.

There is a crispness, a freshness in the air that has wiped away the drowsiness of summer. The day will be warm and the sun is shining, but underlying the mellowness of the warmth there is a new sense of urgency and impeding winter. And in this way seems to start another semester – fresh, urgent in its coming and heavy with the promise of change.

Year after year the fall comes in as a season of hurry, of new things and big changes. On campus the halls are taken over first by crowds of confused freshmen, followed by students of various university years looking almost as confused to be back. Six years ago my fall was full of the bewildering moments of freshman year, this year of the muddles of finishing a thesis - and one thing hasn’t changed at all in between: the never-ending hurry.

I have always oriented myself through different goals that I aim to reach and “complete” and work hard for. Recently however, I noticed that upon reaching goals, I have already moved my target on to other things and so the cycle continues. I always promise myself that there will come a time when I won’t be running from place to place, but not now, soon. The moments where I stop and look back on what has been reached are few and far in between.  

This is one of those moments. One of those moments when I remember to look back on all the steps that have led to this point – the moment when despite the sense of coolness in the autumn air I stop - and enjoy the sunshine, let it sink into my very bones and just breath. As the new Chief-Editor of BTSB, I am very proud to introduce our first issue of the year – an issue filled with wonderful reads to help you back-to-academia! I hope you find that moment for yourself, to stop and just feel. Stop and look back on how much you have accomplished.

To help you appreciate the wonders of the university Inka chats with Alumni or possibly Superman Esko about the PhD track, Timo explores the contradictory position of Dean, I open up about the pangs of thesis writing and Kukka captures the feelings of freshman confusion in her “Ode to Freshmanship”. In this issue Elina steps out of her comfort zone and Anna invites you to visit 5 non-touristy places in Venice (as if you need to feed that travel-lust!), while Aleksi writes about an uncomfortable situation and Anttoni explores Finnish Alternative music as a cultural export. Sara also introduces us to 80s movies that are the real deal, and for some excellent poetry check out Anthony’s “Breakdown Season” or “Absenteeism” by Jenni. Enjoy!