September brought significant change and several major personal achievements. After more than seven years with my previous company, I moved into a new UK-based role—one of my main goals for the year. I also achieved another goal by passing the UK driving test, widely regarded as one of the world’s most challenging. Alongside these milestones, I travelled around England and squeezed in a weekend trip to Germany. It was a busy but rewarding month, full of new experiences. Here’s what I got up to in September.
Destinations:
Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Stroud, Weston-super-Mare, Painswick, and Cheltenham, England
Stuttgart, Rechberg, Tübingen, and Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
Favorite destinations:
Leeds, England – I wasn’t sure what to expect from Leeds, but the city impressed me when I visited for a wedding this month. We stayed mainly in the city center, going out for dinner and drinks and stopping for coffee in the Waterfront and Granary Wharf area, where we walked along the canal and admired the boats. We also explored the center, particularly enjoying the Corn Exchange, Kirkgate Market, and the arcades of the Victoria Quarter. For lunch, we visited one of only four Chick-fil-A restaurants in the UK. I loved the city’s blend of restored historic buildings and complementary modern architecture. Although I didn’t have time to visit, Leeds is also a convenient base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which remains on my list.
Highlights:
I passed my UK driving test! – Oh my goodness, this was a huge accomplishment for me. About five years ago, I was involved in an accident while driving in the UK, which completely knocked my confidence behind the wheel here.
Since moving back, passing the UK driving test has been one of my top goals, as a US licence is only valid for driving in the UK for one year after relocating. I passed my theory test back in March after some intensive studying and then took weekly driving lessons from April through to September.
I actually failed my first driving test because of a single mistake. After that, I struggled to find another test slot, as the system is incredibly overloaded, with far more people wanting to take tests than there are appointments available. After five days of searching, I got very lucky and found a cancellation for a week and a half later.
I was absolutely thrilled to find out that I had passed on my second attempt. The UK driving test is much more demanding than the US version, and driving here is generally more complicated, at least in my opinion. Because of that, passing this test felt like a really significant achievement.
Now that I’ve got my licence, we’re going to buy a car, although we’ll probably wait until October to start looking when we have a bit more time.
I started a new job – After leaving my old job in early September, I had a week off before starting my new role. Starting a new job is always intimidating, but my colleagues and manager seem nice, and I’m gradually becoming more familiar with what I need to do. I felt incredibly overwhelmed and stressed in my last job, so I really appreciate having a slightly calmer role—or at least a calmer start.
Having a week off – Between leaving my old job and starting my new one, I had a week off. It was nice to have some downtime to decompress. I visited a friend in Germany for the weekend, went to an English winery about an hour from my house, made my first attempt at the driving test, took a day trip to the seaside town of Weston-super-Mare, and spent a quick 24 hours in Liverpool to see my cousin, who was visiting the city. I even managed to read a book—The Correspondent by Virginia Evans—in between it all!
Challenges:
Driving test – I lost some confidence in my driving ability after failing my UK driving test for the first time. I failed because of an observation error: I mistimed entering a roundabout and caused another driver to slow down. It’s not uncommon to need a few attempts to pass the UK driving test—it has a pass rate of only 48%—but it was still upsetting after I had worked so hard. Fortunately, I passed a week and a half later, although the experience did cause me some stress this month.
Work burnout – I don’t think I realized how burnt out my last job had left me feeling until I had a week off work. I felt as though I could have used a few months to fully recalibrate. However, I had to start my new job, and fortunately, the first few weeks have been relatively calm, which has been really helpful.
Posts:
What’s coming up in October 2026:
I have plenty to look forward to in October! I’ll begin the month in the U.S., visiting friends and family in Virginia and Maryland and celebrating Markell’s 20th birthday. Back in Cheltenham, I’m excited to attend a Literature Festival session with poet David Larbi, whose book I read earlier this year. The session explores optimism—a quality I’ve worked hard to hold on to through this year’s setbacks. October also brings autumn foliage and my favourite holiday, Halloween. My plans include a Field of Fears event with friends in Virginia, an evening Halloween event at a local farm, and dressing up with my travel group over Halloween itself. To round off the month, Mark and I are spending five days with friends in a rented house in Exmoor National Park, where I’m looking forward to exploring and enjoying time together.
What do you have planned for October?
