lets begin

 

 

As the dog days of summer were closing in, the Lang household became a frenzy. The youngest running to the mailbox to see if her teacher assignment came. The middle swinging in the hammock with George Orwell’s 1984 perfectly position in his hands to block the sun. And I, the oldest, gathering the mattress pad and orientation polo to get ready to go back to school.

Maybe it’s the sweet late summer time air, or the crispness of the L.L.Bean catalogs but everyone, my house especially, can feel the beginning of the school year coming. Like a Prius, not very loud but still moving.

And many have different responses to the approaching of September.

Some organize their backpacks by color a week in advance. Others dash to Marshall’s two days before to find something to wear on the first day. And a couple sit on their couch hours before in complete denial about the fact that the summer is over.

We all have an approach to the start of a new school year, but there is usually a negative connotation around it. As students we lose our “freedom” and our class schedule is the new playlist. Beach days are replaced with study days, backpacks are for laptops not towels. And ice cream loses some of its charm when your eating it the dinning hall instead of at your fav place back home with friends.

All of this is true but a new school year is a new beginning, which is a true gift. Think back to a time that you first tried something new. Driving a car, riding a bike, dancing, cooking, reading a book, a spin class, a recipe, skiing, a philosophy class. Just to a name a few ideas to jog your noodle. How did you feel after that new experience?

Did you feel empowered after sitting behind the wheel for the first time?

Did you feel proud making it down that black diamond that everyone said was way to hard for you?

Did you feel excited after crushing that first college final?

A new beginning is a great place to be, you are in a position to grow and empower yourself. You get to make choices and do things that let you learn more about yourself. A new beginning is the best restart button there is, and for students we get one every September.

With new beginnings there is always unknowns, which sometimes serve as a roadblock for us. The fear of unknown prevents us from growing and taking chances, this fear stalls us from growing. We need to learn that beginnings have unknowns but we can and must face them head on, for new beginnings are too important to be shied away from.

Additionally, with new beginnings there is usually a previous “ending.” Maybe your previous ending was handed to you while in a cap and gown. Or when you turned in your two weeks notice. Even when a “for sale” sign was stuck on your front lawn.

Endings do effect our new beginnings, but it is important to take the positives with us and lead any negatives behind. For the negatives will only weigh you down in your new beginning. And who the heck would want a heavy backpack? Not me my school is 60% hills or stairs.

As the new school year approaches along with new beginnings, I am preparing myself to be fully open to all new choices and opportunities that will be soon flooding the campus. I want to fully immerse myself in all the “beginnings.” From the first class. to the first meeting, and the first intramural game. We are all approaching a time that we have the power to better ourselves, to push ourselves, to recreate or keep creating ourselves.

All we have to do is begin.

sincerely,

emma