Rediscovery

It's fall again. Well, not technically. But somehow the start of school always seemed to mark the end of summer for me. I guess it's probably that way for most students. This year, it just feels all wrong. On the one hand, I suppose that's not all that surprising; autumns have never felt quite right since I moved to Texas. Where are the bonfires? The nip in the air that requires you to pair a sweatshirt with the flip flops you refuse to stop wearing? The smell of roasted corn or fresh apple fritters? The tang of real just-pressed apple cider (not the watery apple juice with cinnamon added that masquerades as apple cider here in Texas)? The brilliant colors igniting the skyline? The satisfying crunch of leaves under your feet? In a way like no other season, autumn makes me lonely for the midwest.

But it's more than that. It feels off, somehow, not to be going back to school. It is, after all, the first time I've not been in school since I was...however old you are when you start kindergarten. In my case, I'm pretty sure I was around 4 or 5 when I started "doing school" with my brother. So it's been a while. Being a student has been one of the defining realities of my life. Going back to school was more than an event; it was a restoration of order in my life. I always looked forward to the start of a new semester: the promise, the potential, the clean slate. While others complained about syllabus shock (and yes, I did experience that too), the start of a new semester was exhilarating to me. Thinking about how much I would learn that semester. Exalting in the fact that "my brain will stop rotting" after the long summer break.

And now....after 21 years of school, I'm done. What's now? Am I resigned to let my brain rot? Let's hope not. If school is preparation, I guess now is when it all really begins!

So, here's to exploring the adventure of life post-studenthood. Discovering who I am, and what life looks like without the constraints of academia.

On to the next chapter!