Back to School

It always surprises me how early children and teens start back to school. I used to think of September as the “Back-to-School” month. I remember the month of September in calendars was filled with pictures of apples, school buses, and books. It was also that time when Target and Walmart put up cardboard aisles full of notebooks, pens, folders, and everything one could possibly need. This year the first day for JCPS is Aug 15th. By the time that September rolls around students in JCPS will have already been in school for more than 2 weeks. On September 1st many of those aisles of school supplies will already be taken down and replaced with whatever covers that section of the store until Christmas. When it is then covered in fake Christmas trees and stuffed reindeer. Change happens, the school year starts earlier and earlier; notebooks and pens get replaced with Christmas trees.

This season is likewise an additional change for me. It is the first year since I started preschool that I am not joining all those hordes of students frantically buying school supplies preparing for the start of another year. Last week, I was reading a list of the top things that students should remember when starting a new school year. This got me thinking, while my life has changed could I still benefit from these things?

Here is the list:

1. Plan more than you think you need

2. Admit your mistakes and your fears

3. Keep it positive

4. Breathe

I think these four steps can benefit anyone. They are not just things for a studious student. Who wouldn’t improve their lives by planning more, admitting mistakes, being positive, and taking more time to breathe? So, as those hordes of students go back to school let us try to likewise live into a change in our lives. Maybe it is not a change of a school year, but a change of outlook.