A lot of schools in the area have already gone back, and others will be following within the next few days. Teacher in-service days are happening, along with all of the camaraderie that comes with the profession. We see the posts, we see the TikToks. We know that sometimes you’re tired out, and we know that it can be overwhelming as generational changes roll in. Kids being born today are much different than kids born before—and now, the COVID generation is starting kindergarten.
The nostalgia of summer is about to hit hard. It’s over. And just like clockwork, every year it feels different. Almost immediately, the weather shifts. The summer sun is still here, but the angle has changed, and the days have gotten shorter. It’s not just something you barely notice—dusk is arriving a full hour and a half earlier than it was only a month ago. We’re zooming into fall, into winter, and into yet another school year.
For some, this one will be especially emotional. It’s senior year—the final everything. And yes, there will be Facebook posts about the “last this” and the “final that.” Some will be ad nauseam. But let it happen. Embrace it. Whether you’re the one posting or you’re seeing your friends and family doing it, understand—it’s a coping mechanism. Sure, Facebook may be for the “old people” now, but I’ll tell you this: if those posts are still around a few years from now, your kids—the same ones rolling their eyes today—will look back with pride. They’ll remember those glory days with honor when they miss them most.
And if you’re a student reading this, especially if this is your last year before higher education, welcome every moment. Breathe it in. Take it all in. Every one of us “old folks” can tell you from experience—it goes by fast. In just a few years, you’ll be like the rest of us, complaining about your job and saying, “Young people these days aren’t like we were.” It happens.
And for the kindergartners just starting? Well… we have some thoughts on that.
Even if you’re not the one carrying a book bag and lunch box anymore, there’s something about this time of year that still gets into your bones. The air changes. That first crisp edge eventually replaces the heavy summer heat. Evenings come a little sooner. Somewhere in the distance, there’s the faint glow of Friday night lights.
It’s like the world is quietly telling you it is again time to turn the page.
Starting school was always a rite of passage. New shoes, fresh notebooks, the awkward excitement of seeing who ended up in your classes. Adults now join in by posting their kids’ schedules and seeing who what other kids share the same homeroom as theirs.. and the photos on the first day blanket the socials…
Fall itself is wrapped itself around it all—cool mornings, leaves crunching under shoes, the smell of sharpened pencils and pumpkin spice everywhere.. memories come back so easily you can almost hear the hum of the fluorescent lights in the hallway of your own school..
Nostalgia..
It’s warm. It’s familiar. But like I’ve said before—it’s a little like pulling a blanket out of the dryer only to realize it’s still damp. Comforting for only a moment and then the warmth vanishes and you are left with something very different than how it started..
Our minds edit the past into highlight reels, cutting out the awkward moments, the bad grades, the stress. We remember the best parts and forget that life was never as flawless as the memory makes it seem.
Sometimes, we try to go back—not physically, but mentally. Mental “teleporting.” Close your eyes. Block out the present. Let yourself drift to a hallway you once walked, a mall you once wandered, a crisp fall night under the stadium lights. Picture every detail—the way the air smelled, the sound of shoes on the floor, the weight of the backpack on your shoulder. If you let yourself sink into it, your brain can almost convince you you’re there again.
I guess it can be healing for a bit..
But here’s the danger—stay there too long, and the present starts to fade. You risk getting so wrapped up in what was that you stop paying attention to what is. Nostalgia can be a bridge, but it can also be a trap and a curse into oblivion..
So use it wisely.
Take the trip in your mind when you need to remember who you are, or to feel the spark of a time when things seemed simpler. But then—open your eyes. Look around. Notice the smell of this fall’s air, the sound of these streets, the people who are part of this chapter.
Because here’s the truth—one day, right now will be the moment you’re trying to teleport back to.
And when that day comes, you’ll wish you’d really been here for it.
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