back to school...

As the end of August ticks down and september looms, we approach that hallowed time in our lives - going back to school, which is a fixture for most of us. through our childhood and college careers we go through this yearly ritual with a mix of excitement and trepidation - and as parents, we go through it as well. The freshmen at the academy are finishing up, I believe, their endoc week (commonly known as orientation), where they are made to get to know their classmates, grooming and uniform standards, their corps of cadets structure and it's officers, the lay of the campus, the little idiosyncracies of the place, and come to the whopping conclusion that they have made some sort of huge mistake - there are few if any girls around and good lord there will be little time for partying. They might not figure out that part yet - sometimes that takes a while to kick in. Freshmen everywhere are notorious for putting parties before studies, even at the academy where true collegiate partying is hard to come by. To be sure, we party hard when we do, but the regularity of such parties is extremely restrictive compared to the party schedule of our peers.

Several of my buddies have already arrived or will be arriving soon at the Academy to begin the year. Some are graduating in a few long months, some have a few years to go, but I feel a bit sad that i'm not able to join them. Such is the fate of new graduates who haven't yet pursued graduate programs - no school, just work. No longer having the excitement of going back in the fall. You wouldnt think youd be sad about it; afterall, we all spend our formulative years not being able to wait until we dont have to go school anymore. And then, 16 years later, you are dumped on your ass, no more schooling. The transition is odd- I feel like I should be in class or sorting out class schedules or finding text books right now. Instead im checking my work schedule and hoping to g-d noone comes in to ask for that nursing care plan book we're out of again.

Good Luck, you academic endeavorists!