The Last First Day

Today is my last first day of school. In December, I will again be a graduate. I don't remember a lot about my first first day of school, but I do have a few memories. My best friend from pre-school, who would go on to be my best friend through grammar school, middle school, high school, and college (and marriage and babies and...), was in my class, and this excited me beyond measure. My first teacher's name was Mrs. Woods, and she was very pretty and so, so nice. I remember how thrilled I was to finally be starting school. I was a lover of learning from a very young age, learning to read at three years old (my mom was proactive like that). On my first first day of school, I was just excited to have my very own backpack and (as Abby says, STOP.THE.WORLD.) a huge classroom full of new friends.

Today is my last first day of school, and I gotta be honest...the excitement is still there. No, not the excitement of getting to show off my name-writing skills or brand-new crayons, but the excitement that comes with finishing something that I've worked harder on than anything in the world. The next four months are going to be more trying than any before them, balancing working full-time with being a full-time student and writing my thesis while job hunting. Good thing I just bought that sequined binder from Target, right?