Back to School

I seriously cannot believe it's that time of year again.  I haven't even had to go "back to school" for over 10 years now, and those three dreaded words still carry a hint of depression in them for me. 

I don't know what it is exactly.  Perhaps it's because it symbolizes the end of freedom.  Perhaps it's because I know it means that the days are getting shorter and cold weather is just around the corner.  Perhaps it's merely because I know there will be more traffic on my way to work in the morning, and those big yellow buses will be slowing me and my red rocket down with their flashing yellow lights and their little stop signs.

I've never quite been able to understand those people who genuinely get some kind of high out of the process of learning.  Don't get me wrong.  I do like to learn new things and expand my horizons, but I'm much more interested in investing my time in diving deeper into areas that I'm passionate about rather than learning random facts that I know will never stick because I have no practical application for them.  My brain hurts just thinking about having to take a test and get graded on my aptitude and seeing potential red marks on my paper!  I'm starting to break into a cold sweat even as I type this!  The funny thing is that despite my aversion for school, I typically have been a pretty good student.  I even graduated high school with the honored salutatorian title and all!  (shhhh...#2 out of 12 students in my graduating class doesn't sound as impressive...haha)  But still, I really wouldn't have classified all that learning as "fun" for the most part.  Except for algebra...I genuinely LOVED algebra.  :-)

So here's to all of you students out there who are starting to head back to school for yet another year of filling your brain with all kinds of wonderful facts and figures.  I do not envy you.  But I will say that while I'm thankful I'm not in your shoes any more, I'm also thankful that I stuck with it and actually put the time and effort into making the most of my schooling.  No pain, no gain...right?

Good luck!!  :-)

(something tells me that I should never be asked to give an encouraging motivational speech to students...ever. haha)