Back To School and Start Anew.

It's Back To School season and this time of year always has me reminiscing about my school years. When the most important tasks were choosing this year's backpack, notebooks, pens, binders, and all the other stationery delights that awaited. I think of this time almost as if it's the teenage equivalent of New Year's Eve. A time to start over, begin anew, and with all the unknown promise that a new year holds. For me, school was the last century. The 90s to be exact and my school experience wasn't the stereotypical one. I attended a private, all-girl, Catholic high school. We had to wear wool kilt skirts and button-downs with Peter Ran collars. But as teenagers, we still yearned to express ourselves by bending the dress code rules. 

So, we rolled up our skirts that were supposed to reach our knees so we could show off more leg. Of course, the nuns would tell us to unroll them. We did for a moment only to roll them up again once we were out of their sights. Another way to liven up our uniforms was through tights, colorful and stylish, we sought ways to reveal our characters. After all, the white knee-highs were standard uniform. I think back to those times and see how little rebellious details revealed our character—the girl who rebelled (me) and the girl who followed the rules, the classic styled girl and every character that could be found in the world. A time when teenage girls were exploring the world and discovering where we all fit in it. Even with all the teenage angst and uncertainty of the world, we stepped forward to find our place, to carve our path. 

And we did with uniforms that got us detention or at the very least, a reprimand but we learned to be bold, be ourselves. 

So, what was high school like for you? Do you have memories that fill you with nostalgia?

It's The Season To Buy A Pen

It’s Back to School season. Parents are busy preparing their children for the school year. But I don’t have children. I have nieces and nephews. The lack of little ones doesn’t prevent me from enjoying this time of a year.

I admit it. I love stationary. I love a new pen. I love a sharpen pencil. I love folders and notebooks. And I’m not alone. Many writers love all this stuff. After all most of us wrote our first stories on loose leaf paper. I remember writing my stories and tuck them nice and tight in my Trapper Keeper or a folder that was never far from me.

Now that I’m an adult that childhood rush of pleasure hasn’t faded. I spend the month of August going from store to store. I have more notebooks, pen, pencils and other such things that I can need but that doesn’t stop me from buying more. I mean my obsession is so bad that as I plan a trip to Japan I know that I will be hitting up the stationary stores located there. They have some of the best. I want to explore Itoya. It has twelve—12 floors. 

Why do writers love this stuff? The closest reason for this love is one very meaningful word—possibilities. A clean sheet of paper brims with it. A pen or pencil is a tool to create characters, worlds, and have adventures. So while kids are gathering their supplies to jot down notes, us writers are doing it for possibilities that await us. 

Do you share this love or do you have one that makes sense to only you?

Back to School! #RB4U

Back to School

Hello and thank you for stopping by today to talk with me about Back to School.

If you are a teacher, I'm sorry... You are probably feeling a little under the weather. It seems like the germs have hit many of you. 

If you are a student, you are probably feeling a little tired as well. Getting up early and being "on" all day is a challenge after sleeping in for the last two and a half months. 

If you are a parent, I'm sure you are celebrating. School has begun and you are able to send the children off for a little bit each day, so you can get some work done or enjoy some "me" time. Or you are missing the hours you had with your little ones. 

As someone who has been all of the above (student, parent and teacher), I have to share with you how I feel about this time of year...

Back to school time is a time to reconnect with friends and enjoy time together. This year, I'm guest teaching and have already been in two different schools during the first week. I've met some wonderful students. Two stick out in my mind...

In one classroom, at the end of the day, one student told me that he was sad that he won't see me until October when I'm back in his class. I love that I made a connection with him. He is a Japanese student who moved to the USA for five years and while he speaks Japanese at home, he's speaking English at school. I connected with him because I had a former student who was like him. He appreciated that I "got" his life, that I understood what he was going through and had time to listen to him share about the trip he'd taken back to Japan over the summer. 

The second student was in a different class. After sharing about bucket filling and how we all can make each other feel happy...he hugged me at the end of the day and thanked me for coming in. It made me want to go back to that class again.

Two different classes and two different students but they both gave me a gift. And you can do the same to someone you see today. You can say a kind word, a compliment or even share a smile. Each one of us deserves to have a wonderful back to school, fall, or even September. #fillabucket

Did you have a favorite teacher? Someone you connected with? A classmate you couldn't wait to see again in September? I'd love to hear about it.

And if you are looking for a fun story about a school teacher who finds love in a surprising place... check out Chalkboard Romance.  Chalkboard Romance- Amazon

Until Next Month...

Melissa Keir

www.melissakeir.com