It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year-Or is it?

I've always loved the Staples commercial that features Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." This commercial shows parents pushing carts full of school supplies through the store with their kids in tow and has always been one of my favorites. I've loved school probably since my very first day (well, not during my brief stint at Phyl's Academy when I was traumatized by the teachers and some of the students, but I still got a great education so whatever) so of course I think that going back is one of the most wonderful times of the year!

Anyone who works in Higher Education will tell you that this time of year is go time. We have all types of programs and events throughout the year, but mid-August really is the most high energy, fast paced, and truly exciting. I spend my days during this week of first-year move-in, orientation, and the start of classes, directing parents to resources, talking up my office ad nauseum, using the bathrooms in my building that the new students don't know about yet and therefore haven't made disgusting by 10 am, containing my frustration at people who slow down driving and foot traffic on campus because they have no clue where they're going, and "venting" with colleagues about the overall madness of opening. Note that venting is in quotes in the above sentence, because the truth is that that "venting" is really just a roundabout way of talking about how much we love what we do.

Aside from all the annoying parts of opening, I also spend my days in this first week assuring students that they'll be okay. To the ones that look like deer in the headlights, I tell "you'll know how to navigate campus in no time." To the ones who are homesick I say "just watch, you'll eventually forget to call home." To the ones who are nervous about classes I remind, "you wouldn't be here if you couldn't handle it." And yet, I find myself two hours away from starting my first doctoral class at NC State and all the advice I regularly give students just seems like lip service. I don't think I'll ever know how to navigate campus...no matter how many people I ask about parking, I just don't think I'll find the lot or my way to the building after I eventually get there. I'm certainly not homesick, but right now I would love to be sitting on the couch in my mom's livingroom or even at my desk at work...it's safe, it's comfortable. And, how the heck am I going to handle classes?!

I realized today that I feel like a freshman all over again! (Higher Ed folks, give me a break on the use of the word freshman.) I totally get why they look at me with crooked smiles and doubt filled eyes when I tell them they'll be okay. The educator, the realist, the optimist in me knows that I will be okay- I will survive going back to school just as I have so many times before. The little voice in my head however, just wants to tell Andy Williams to shut up!