Back To School, Back To School...

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight... Oh, back to school..." Every September (or late August) I always think about this line from a movie. It always gets me psyched for school... even though I don't go to school anymore.

Yesterday, I got to talk to many students and see how their first day of school went (for some of them, it was their first day of Jr. High). What an exciting time, the first day of school, new classes, new teachers, new friends. At the beginning of the day you're all nervous, wondering where your classes are, who your teachers are, who you're going to sit next to. In talking to a lot of you, it seemed by the end of the day, you had made it through and you were relieved. None of you got stuffed into a trash can, or singled out by other students. You all had fun, and saw that school isn't as bad or scary as you may have thought.

I was homeschooled through 2nd grade. It made things easier, because I could just wake up and go to the kitchen table. I didn't really need to make friends, except for my brother. During my home school days, we would go to an academy every Friday, to have class with other kids who were also being home schooled. This picture is from one of the first times I went to the academy (My brother's on the left, and I'm on the right). I was SO excited to be going to hang out and play with other kids. I was excited to be in a class room and learn, and I was glad I had an older brother who could help show me the ropes. But that didn't stop me from being nervous, and having butterflies in my stomache.

It's been a long time since I've taken that picture, but nothing has really changed. When I went into a public elementary school (and when I went into Jr. High, high school and college) I had butterflies in my stomache, yes, but I was excited. I was excited to learn new things, to make new friends, and be another year older.

I hope that you are all just as excited as I was (and still am). I hope that the butterflies in your stomache don't get the better of you, and get in the way of you enjoying this moment in your life.

If you are nervous, then at lunch sit with a students you know from Crash. Lean on them to get through your first week, to talk to, to sit next to. If you need a break from school (and even if you don't) all Jr. High students are welcome to join Crash this Wednesday night as we hang out, get to know those who go to our school, and begin to learn about who Jesus is.