No more back to school

Talk about it

All this back-to-school talk is making me a bit antsy. This is the first time in 18 or so years that I won’t be going back to school.

It all started with two years of preschool with Kathy and Trudy at North Shore Elementary. I distinctly remember beach days, when our teachers would bring in a sand box and beach toys and we wore our swimsuits to class. Second-best was dress-up time and the huge box of secondhand clothes and accessories we got to dig through.

Then, it was grade school at NSE. Each year was pretty similar to the last, except when you got to sixth grade. That was the year you ruled the school. We got first pick for the Christmas music program (sixth graders always chose the mischievous “Nuttin’ for Christmas” song), finally got to visit Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center and could borrow as many books from the library as we wanted. This included Sweet Valley High and R.L. Stine books. When you had permission to read those, which was only granted to the older students, you were officially “grown up” in the elementary school sense.

Finally, there was seventh grade. We transitioned to the high school in Two Harbors and I’ll admit it was somewhat terrifying. First of all, we had to blend with what seemed to be another species of students. Two Harbors girls already wore makeup and had boyfriends. What did I, with my slicked-back bun, baggy jeans and impressive but unladylike soccer skills, have in common with them? Additionally, I was suddenly in a massive school with three floors and lots of really old and cool people roaming the hallways. Like I said—terrifying.

In 10th grade, we moved into the new high school on Highway 2. The biggest thing I remember was the disappointment that came with no off-campus lunch—I could no longer walk to Hardee’s for curly fries and soft serve during my noon hour.

Then, I was a senior. The year went by in a flash of banquets, awards and college applications. It concluded with teary goodbyes to my best friends as we left to bring the Two Harbors version of Minnesota Nice (accent included) to all parts of the state and country.

In 2008, I started college at Gustavus Adolphus. I was afraid of moving to a different part of the state for college but even more afraid of staying at home without all of my friends. So, I packed all my stuff, said a numb goodbye to my parents (the tears came later) and set out to make new friends in a region strangely lacking trees and lakes.

My four years there flew by and this fall feels oddly static. I feel like I should be getting ready for something—packing all of my clothes, e-mailing professors for book lists, frantically calling and texting my roommates to make sure we have enough pots and pans for the year—anything.

Instead, I’m gearing up for a running race in September in Duluth, making plans for drinks and dinner with my friends still in the area, interviewing my former teachers and administrators about the new school year for the News-Chronicle and helping coach a local boys soccer team—in a word, staying put. It’s kind of nice being somewhat stress-free and relaxed in the fall. I’m excited to see the autumn colors on the North Shore and be here for Halloween, even if I am missing that renewing back-to-school feeling.

I can still go on a back-to-school shopping spree, though…right?

Tags: opinion