School Daze  

When DH finished up his last semester of college, he was ebulliant. Ever since I'd met him, he'd told me how he procrastinated on every assignment, frequently dozed off during lectures, and sometimes skipped classes he didn't find interesting. This behavior led to a rather undistinguished departure from the university where we met (which we'll call "Dupont"-- Tom Wolfe fans, read into this as you like), before he rather fortunately fell on his feet at another well-known school. But despite his ultimate academic succes-- which earned him All-Conference Academic honors for football his senior year-- school was never really his thing.

This is one of the many ways in which we are completely, utterly, totally different. From my first day of montessori school at age three-- when my mom offered to escort me inside, only to hear me politely decline and walk in without glancing back-- to my last history class at "Dupont", academia has been my niche. Part of my love of learning is because I'm just plain good at it; I have a strong memory, which is at times photographic, and helps me keep track of facts, figures, dates, names, and places. But I also love the analytical, theoretical, interpretive part of the learning process. I adore taking a piece of information, mulling over it in my brain, then ultimately deciphering some more in-depth message that had been buried in the context.

Yesterday was the first day of school for students where we live now, and this time of year always finds me nostalgic. I long for the rush of anticipation that comes with the first day of class; what will I wear? who will be in my classes? will my teachers challenge me? (OK, let's level here: yes, I was that kid in school. I was not necessarily a suck up, but because I actually enjoyed learning and got good grades, my teachers genuinely liked me. Call me a dork if you want, I wear that title with honor.) I miss the days when my mom would take me to Staples or Office Depot and let me pick out all the notebooks, pens, and folders I wanted.

Even though I already own a Bachelor's degree from "Dupont", and a Master's degree from one of the top journalism schools in the country, I have promised myself that I will continue my education. Not this year... maybe not next year... but some day, some how, I am going to go back to school and earn the degree I've always wanted: my Ph.D.. I know it's a process that will most likely take me the better part of a decade, and won't ultimately pay off in terms of cold hard cash. But for a perpetual student like me, I can think of no thing that holds more value in my mind and in my heart.

So to all my teacher-friends out there-- and there are a lot of you in this endearing profession-- thank you from the bottom of my heart. It's people like you who have made me who I am, who nurtured my love of learning. And remember-- when a dorky kid in the front row with glasses raises her hand eagerly tomorrow morning to start the school year off with a know-it-all answer... that kid could be me.