"Back in the saddle again" - Gene Autry

There was way too much butter on the popcorn and way too much popcorn. Add a large Dr. Pepper and you've got a recipe for a stomach ache that lasts the rest of the night.

My innards haven't felt this bad in a long time, and thus why I am still awake.

But on the brightside, Star Trek was well worth my $2 (not $1 as I no longer have a valid school ID) which reminds me that now is a good time to insert how grateful I am that I don't have school for the next year.

I love what I do, and it hit me today that I think a lot of people think school is an end in itself. I did. I used to think that my professors were members of the echelon of Intelligence, who if I could emulate in any way I would be set for life eternal. However, it has come to my attention that I have learned more life lessons in the last 2 weeks at my job than I can tie back to my classrooms. There really is worthy, equitable learning outside of school, dare I say it and fall great heights from the Ivory Towers in my educational background. The kids I deal with are constantly impressing me, no...shocking me that no matter what their circumstances, they are rising above it with the little they have. These kids, in a sense, are living the American dream. Unknowingly.

Switch gears.

Today, there were so many cars on the road I was actually feeling anxiety.
On the way home from work, there was not 1, not 2, but 3 accidents all at the same time, one traffic jam flowing into the next one.
Target ran out of floor space for notebooks, microwave ovens, and fans, so they took over some of the men's clothing department.
I almost hit 2 pedestrians.
I received several text messages about how crazy the Wilke was today.

...

Oh the beginnings of school years.
I can smell the freshly sharpened pencils, hear the squeaky new shoes on the tile floors, see the new haircuts, feel the air chilling 1 degree with every day, signifying it's almost time to bust out that college sweatshirt you stole from your boyfriend of 3 years ago and now only wear it to and from the gym, making up for your lack of sweatpants and ample bare leg.

Yet...a longing pause.
I feel like I could be missing out on something: the pompousness and inclusion of being a college student that is only earned from walking the sidewalks, going to classes, being seen at the library hunched over a computer, book, and/or table, having a distressed look on your face most of the time, and/or spotted running with a backpack slung over your shoulder. I will no longer be able to share that "oh crap" moment with a friend who also has a paper due at midnight, or stories of that quirky or insanely intelligent professor, or how you may have spotted your soulmate across the quad last week and then again today. No...I am no longer in the middle of this social world we know as College. When the crowd cheers and boos, I will be on the outskirts with ears only curious, like a security guard at a football game not allowed to leave his post by the parking lot. He never sees the actual play, but feels all the ramifications of it, including picking up the trash. There is no doubt that I will be caressing the emotional shoulders of many friends, saying, "It'll be ok...it's only a paper." If you, reader, will be one of those friends, to you I say in advance enjoy it while it lasts because one day you'll be where I am, just doing my job. Perhaps you'll love it, or not, but right now love that paper that is due at midnight.