Thursday, August 25, 2011

Memory Journal: Back To School

East-coasters will be wondering why I’m writing about back-to-school when it isn’t even September.  Well we early-birds in the Midwest go back in mid-August.  Chalk it up to those catchy Old Navy commercials with the dancing families singing about cheap jeans, but I get super nostalgic about my school days around this time each year.  After all, I haven’t gone “back to school” for four years now, but I did for the preceding 18 Augusts.  In truth - and there’s a Meijer commercial that made fun of this - I loved back-to-school time, especially the shopping.  Nothing could get me in the mood for some serious studying and note-taking like crisp folders and bright white paper.  Going to Target or one of the office supply stores felt like stocking up on penicillin and food at the general store in the Oregon Trail video game: serious prepping for a big adventure.  I carefully chose the items that would accompany me every day for the next ten months:  pencils that would slide into the thin nook at the top edge of my desk, college-ruled paper I’d hand out to classmates who ran out, and multi-colored binders that would go rigid stuffed with notes and dividers by the end of the year.  For a good three years in high school, my most prized school-related possession was my ladybug-studded denim pencil case.  Handy, cute... I loved that thing.  

I may not brag about my pencil cases anymore, but I can still reminisce about my back-to-school days:

First grade:   I’m asleep in my parents' bedroom.  I remember seeing the tulip trees out the window and the blue-patterned wallpaper between my sleepy eyes.  I must have snuck up here the night before because I was nervous.   But I’m too cozy to get out of bed now.  Having come from afternoon kindergarten, I’m not used to getting up early.  My mom comes to the side of the bed and cheerfully reminds me, “Annie, it’s your first day of First Grade.”  I sit straight up out of excitement, making a perfect L with my body.  I’m so excited for my first day of real school.

Third grade:  I’m in the gymnasium of my elementary school a few days before school starts.  A friend from church runs up to me and says “We’re both in Mrs. M’s class!”  She grabs my hand and pulls me over to a piece of computer paper taped to the gym wall, and I see my name listed under Mrs. M’s. class.  We’re both excited.  We think she’s the best third grade teacher only because she’s young and pretty.

Junior High:  I labor for hours the night before trying to determine what I should wear on the first day of school.  Wide leg jeans?  Abercrombie & Fitch?  Even though I'll be seeing familiar faces, I still feel like I'm making a first impression.  

Ninth grade:  The day before my first day of high school, I go in to register and get my picture taken for my student ID and our yearbook.  I’ve carefully chosen my outfit and primped my hair.  But I know my ninth grade picture will misrepresent me because I get my braces taken off the next day.  

High school:  My high school is huge (around 4,000 students), and we only have ten-minute passing periods.  My stress dreams before each new semester involve getting lost in the hallways and not being able to find where classroom B125 is before the bell rings, and I am not the kind of student who would ever get a “tardy.”  No sir.  Lucky for me, my dad is a teacher at my high school, so he takes me over the night before our first day back and helps me find my classrooms.  It’s always fun to see the school at night.  The hallways seem restful and sleepy, just waiting for the excitement of tomorrow.

College:  My best friend-turned roommate and I just moved into our dorm room, and freshman orientation is in full force.  I’m excited to make new friends, but I’m happy that I already have one with me.  We feel like each others' security blankets.  But a few days after we move in, she gets sick with mono and has to go home.  I’m bummed she has to leave and even more bummed that we won’t ever be able to share our dishes or utensils.  Plus, she accidentally takes the cable cord hook-up with her so I can’t watch TV.  I only have two DVDs with me, and I watch one of them almost every night for two weeks.  I still have the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets memorized: “I’m sorry, Hedwig, I’m not allowed to use magic outside of school.”  College is just as cool as Hogwarts.

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