Back-To-School!

This morning as I logged on to facebook, I was bombarded by "first day of school!" posts, both positive and negative. The public schools in my area, as well as both of my alma matters started classes this week, and it is finally hitting me that--for the first time I can remember--I am NOT going back to school!

Now, some of you would cheer at such a prospect, but those who know me a bit better will understand that I have mixed feelings about this.

Back-to-school means so much more than just more classes. Back-to-school means shopping for school supplies--there is very little more satisfying than looking over your brand-new pencils, pens, highlighters, an the like. Oh, the joy of matching notebooks and folders, color-coordinated for each subject! But even more exciting than this is looking forward to the prospect of new teachers and new faces, reuniting with old friends you've been missing all summer, and of course, wondering what great secrets of the universe you will uncover in the coming semester.

The new school year comes with a set of new resolutions as well: vows to go to bed earlier, to eat healthier, to start projects earlier, not the night before they're due, the promises go on and on, filled with hope that this year, you will be a better student, become a better person.

As for me, I am realizing that I don't have this fresh-start to look forward to. The schedule and habits that I have been keeping over the summer will have no magic "reset" button when I head back to class. Transitions are times of reevaluation and new beginnings, but I am missing that transition date and all the self-examination and resolve that come with it. Without the pressure of a deadline, the projects I started this summer are left half-done, and I find myself feeling like I need to get back-to-something!

This is no excuse for me to be lazy. With September right around the corner, I can choose to make this my own time of introspection and resolutions, fresh starts and new adventures. Even though I'm no longer in school, I can still continue learning, reading and studying, but it will be more difficult. My nanny job isn't exactly in my degree field (you can't really talk to a 15-month-old about secondary dominants), so I have to find other ways to keep my mind stimulated. I am teaching a few private violin students, tutoring a high-school student in music theory, and playing in the community symphony. I am thankful for these opportunities to continue playing and teaching, and the way they necessitate my continued practice and review of the things I studied in school, but I'd like to do more than just review, I want to keep learning. So, starting this fall, I promise to put more effort into finding topics that I am interested in learning about, and of course finding the discipline to do so! There, how was that for a back-to-nothing resolution?

I'll admit, I will miss the school supplies... Maybe I can find an excuse to buy a new set of highlighters, or maybe some color-coordinated notebooks...