The Nostalgia of the First Day of School

As soon as the calendar switches to August, I can't help but think about school starting again. Now, I've been out of school for a few decades and both of my children have graduated with master's degrees, so I don't need to think about buying school supplies or worry about who my teacher will be and whether I'll have any classes with my best friends. But I always find my thoughts wandering back to some of my first days of school.

I attended six different schools in three towns from kindergarten through high school. So, some of my first days of school meant I was a newcomer to the school itself and sometimes even to the teachers and students. Other first days felt more relaxed because I already knew my way around the school building, had made friends among my classmates, and could make some good assumptions about certain school-day routines like lunch in the cafeteria and how I would travel to and from school. No matter the circumstances around the first day of school, there were always a mix of emotions to juggle.

Excitement for a New School Year

The consistent reaction I had for every first day of school was excitement. I really liked school, so after a few weeks of summer vacation I was ready to swap sleeping late and hanging out with friends for getting up early to go to school and even (gasp!) homework. I didn't track the passage of summer vacation on the calendar, but I would notice the appearance of printed school supply lists in the stores. Shopping for new notebooks, folders, crayons, pencils, pens, paste or glue, rulers, and more was a favorite activity to look forward to. I couldn't wait to bring those new supplies to school and arrange them in my flip-top desk or in my assigned locker in the school hallway. Did you also love selecting your favorite colors and designs on notebooks and folders?

Getting dressed for the first day of school was also a big highlight of the year. As a young girl I always wanted to wear a new dress that my mom and I had shopped for, but later in high school I was more likely to wear new blue jeans and a new shirt or blouse to fit in with my classmate peers. Unfortunately, I can't find any first-day-of-school photos, but I hope to find some when I (finally) go through some old boxes. What do you remember wearing to school on the first day?

Bonus question for the girls: Did you ever coordinate with your girlfriends to wear dresses to school on the same day? In high school, I remember saying to my best friend Tracie, "I'll wear a dress to school tomorrow if you will, too." Peer pressure or group think were apparently strong influences for me at the time. It's interesting to try to analyze that thinking so many years later!

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Front and back designs on my metal Partridge Family lunchbox (circa 1971 or 1972)

One especially exciting first day was in either fourth or fifth grade because I could bring my lunch to school in a new Partridge Family lunchbox -- which I still own, thanks to my mom saving it for me. Typically, my younger brother and I bought our lunch at school rather than bringing ones from home. My parents didn't have time in the mornings to pack us lunches, so sending us to school with lunch money was easier. You can imagine what a big deal it was to bring our lunches to school from time to time, and that cool lunchbox was the perfect accessory on the first day of school. Did you buy your lunches at school or bring a lunch from home?

Apprehension About the New or Unknown

The excitement about the first day of school was often accompanied by some apprehension, too. Would I like my new teacher (or teachers in later years when we had different teachers for each subject)? Who would be in my class? Who would I sit with during lunch?

When I started sixth grade, it was the first time we changed teachers and classrooms for different subjects throughout the day. I know that first day I was very nervous about finding my way to the right room in a new middle school. I didn't want to still be in the hallway when the bell rung to start the next class period. Looking back, I don't remember getting lost or being late for a class, but I'm sure that panic didn't subside until the end of the school day. Did you ever get lost or walk into the wrong classroom?

The next year I attended seventh grade at the junior high school, and we were assigned lockers that we shared with another student. I know I was so nervous the first day that I would not remember the combination for the padlock that secured my locker, even though I wrote it inside a notebook cover for quick reference. An even bigger fear was whether I would have trouble getting the locker open despite turning the dial on the padlock to the right numbers. No doubt these fears persisted for a few days past the first day -- until I finally mastered that darn padlock!

A Few Surprises As Well

A good first day of school doesn't seem quite complete without some unexpected situations thrown in for good measure. I'll admit that most of my first days of school must have been fairly typical with lots to tell my parents about my teacher, who was in my class, what we learned about that day, and maybe what we had for lunch. But I do remember a couple first days that held did not play out as I might have expected.

My fourth grade school picture

Before fourth grade, I don't remember dreading a teacher taking attendance. But that year was the first time I experienced how embarrassing the simple process of roll call could be. That's because my legal first name is Jodean, but I've always been known by my nickname, Jodi. Unfortunately, my teacher that year didn't know, so she called out my name as Jodean Carlson. I'm sure I was a bit shocked at first to hear that version of my name, but no doubt I responded "here" while raising my hand. Then I had to explain to her that I liked to be called Jodi instead. It wasn't a problem for the teacher, as she took note on her attendance sheet, but my classmates decided it would be great fun to tease me about my "real" first name. Being super sensitive as a new girl to that school, it felt like an unfair introduction to these classmates who I would spend the whole school year with. Fortunately, the teasing stopped after a couple days -- and thankfully I survived and had a great school year.

For most of my elementary school years, I lived close enough to my school that I could walk or ride my bike. Starting in sixth grade, I rode a school bus in the mornings and afternoons. By the time I was in high school, riding the bus wasn't anything new, but there were more buses carrying students to this school than I had experienced at my middle and junior high schools. That first day of ninth grade started off fine because the school bus brought us to the main entrance of the school building, but I had only a vague idea where to find the school buses after school. After worrying all day about missing my bus and how I would get home, I was thrilled to find bus number 22 in the first bus parking space along the south end of the school building. I was so relieved to not have to check through a whole line of buses to find the right one. That day ended with a good surprise!

Your Memorable First Days of School

Have any of my memories brought back some of your own from those first days of school? It's fun to think back to those days and compare them to the school experiences of our children or grandchildren. Share your memories below. I'd love to know what made your first days of school exciting, worrisome, or surprising.

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~ Heather M. and Jodi B.