Back to School

Back to school jitters is a common August ailment in most homes with school aged children. 

 

While back to school shopping with my 14 year old grand-daughter, Ashleigh, this summer (and yes, just like in the very well broadcast television commercial for a well known department store, she wanted jeans, a hoodie and a backpack), she shared that she was feeling quite nervous about returning to school for Grade 10, after her summer vacation. “What if none of my friends are in my class?” “What if I get too much homework this year?” “What am I going to wear?” These were some of her major concerns.

 

Amazingly these were some of the same questions that had been rolling around in my head since deciding to participate in the Diploma in Agricultural Communications program at the University of Guelph. Yes, back to school jitters were alive and well deep inside this Grandma who was returning to school.  I was not only worried about whether I would have time for homework in addition to working full-time and what to wear on that very important first day of class.  I was also extremely anxious about whether I really could be a student again, thirty years after graduation.

 

Now here it is the middle of September and Ashleigh and I have both survived back to school.  We are both getting settled in to our schedules for studying, completing assignments and we are getting excited about the new things that we are learning.  Plus, those new hoodies we bought back in August, are keeping us warm on these cool autumn mornings.