It’s that time of year when families are running for school supplies, uniform shops are in full swing, and parents count down the days until their kids aren’t around all day long anymore. Yep, school’s back! I remember the eagerness I always felt at the start of a new academic year, yes, I’m that much of a nerd. I was always excited to see whose class I’d be assigned to, which friends would be in class with me, and as I got older, I began to look forward to specific classes like Latin or Drama.

I’ve had 24 first days of school so far since I started Kindergarten. I remember that first one quite clearly, my parents were going into the school with me and sitting in a room where we were playing with something, maybe some building blocks? Now looking back on that day as I near the end of my time as a professional student I can’t help but smile, seeing as that first first day of school was one of my favorites. In the years since I’ve had all sorts of first days. I remember being surprised at first seeing my classmates in my elementary school in Kansas City, thinking they all looked younger than me. As it turned out that was the moment when I met some people who remained friends throughout high school and beyond.

Looking back on my years of first days of the new school year I feel like I can get a good grasp on my own history, on how I grew up over those years, just by looking at those specific days spaced about a year apart. How things have changed from being the smart kid with a big curious gaze at all around him to the now nearly 30-year-old who has moved to the other side of the classroom as a teacher. I’ve kept the curiosity, God willing that’ll stick around all throughout my life, but I’ve let a layer of worldliness grow around it. I think one of the reasons why I often nostalgize my early youth is because I wasn’t aware of the problems of the world then, only of dreams and ideas of how to make an impact upon it.

I’ve also always preferred the beginnings of stories over their eventual conclusions. I’m more of a fan of Bronze Age Greek archeology than many of the later periods in Greek history because of the mystery involved in an era with less written records and more potential for wonderous discoveries. In the same way, I’ve always preferred the first day of school to the last. There’s the potential involved in that first day, the start of something, that isn’t there at the last day. That may also be why I prefer conceptions over cremations.

On that note, a word from this week’s sponsor: Funeral Advocates of Prairie Village, Kansas.

Only joking, but if you’re looking for funerary help do talk to my friend Brian O’Laughlin at Funeral Advocates, he’s the best in the business.

Lately the first day of school has been marked by rapid withdrawals and new enrollments in the college classes that I TA. It’s a phenomenon that is still new to me, as whenever I enrolled in a class when I was in college I stuck with that class for the entire semester. Those sorts of roster changes can be complicated for me as the instructor, but you kind of just have to go with the flow and deal with it. There are students who I’ll meet on the first day who I’ll look forward to working with for a good fourteen to fifteen weeks only for them to withdraw for any number of reasons. I’m fine with it if they think it’s best that they can do for their own needs. It does mean I tend to not learn my students’ names as quickly as I’d like because they’re in so much flux so early on.

Tied up with the first day of school is also the first day back seeing your friends again. This is one of the big things I always look forward to. Seeing people who I enjoyed working with in the previous academic year, people who I respect and trust, once again after a few months off. It’s one of the great benefits of education that we get both that time together and that much needed time apart to rest. The first day of school waddles into view every year like a penguin looking for a good watering hole, and once it’s gone, you’re on board that train heading towards the inevitable last day of classes at the end of the line.

Perhaps the first day of school is a good metaphor for life. Like the school year’s beginning everyone has a start to their lives, and like its ending everyone will run their course in their own time. Sometimes school years seem to drag on eternally, while other times they will pass in the blip of a second. Regardless, the school year always finds a way.

Now, I have a syllabus to write. Happy First Day of School, and to all the students and teachers and parents out there: good luck!