In the last couple of weeks, all the parents I know have been preoccupied with getting their kids back to school again. They’re doing back to school shopping for supplies and clothes, thinking about first day outfits, and rearranging schedules.
For a long time, school wasn’t a happy place for me. I was always forgetting things, and other kids didn’t like me.
Nonetheless, at the beginning of a school year, I had hope. This might be the year I got really organized. The year I had fun. The year I was cool. The new school supplies, in particular, filled me with joy.
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Eventually, things did get better for me. I got organized. I made friends. But if that was never true for you—if school was always hell—that’s even more reason to treat yourself to an optimistic “back to school” mindset now. All of the books and new things, none of the bullying!
And if you loved school, why not reconnect with those memories? Here are a few ways to get that good “back to school” feeling.
1. Get a “first day” outfit.
I love seeing kids’ “first day” photos on Facebook, and there’s nothing like a new outfit to give you a positive outlook (even if you’re like me and sometimes get your “new” outfits on ebay! There’s nothing wrong with back to school deals.) This is the perfect time to get some new clothes to wear this coming Monday, or after Labor Day break…whenever you feel like you want your fresh start.
2. Get ready to learn.
Make a reading list about a particular topic you’ve been wanting to know more about for a while. Maybe check out Duolingo or Fluenz (or both!) to learn a foreign language…it’s so good for your brain, and just doing it makes you feel more cosmopolitan and interesting.
Or if your reading has slid a bit (mine has, and more than a bit), now’s a great time to re-establish a daily reading habit. A half hour over lunch, to get your mind of workplace stresses… or a half hour before bed, when you’re all cozy with some herbal tea… what could be better?
3. Get new art or writing supplies.
I have a lot of readers who are writers and artists. As creative people, we can be so hard on ourselves, which can be counter-productive. Our creative spirit responds to treats and gifts now and again. Here are a few things your creative soul might like:
A brand-new “leather” journal…
This is vegan. You might use it for a description journal.
Doesn’t this look like fun?
These gel pens are my favorites, and they aren’t too expensive. For me, these + a fat new spiral notebook = instant inspiration. They come in colors, too!
Gorgeous new folders…
To organize all your projects.
4. Watch a “back to school” type movie.
My very favorite is Dead Poets Society with the beloved late actor Robin Williams. But you might also like Good Will Hunting (another amazing performance by Williams,) Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (and I know that one is an ironic choice, since he’s ditching school.)
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5. Get a lunch box!
As a kid, I brought my lunch a lot of the time…my parents had to watch their budget, and a lunch from home was often cheaper than a school lunch. As an adult, I often waste too much money going out for lunch.
There are so many great lunch box choices out there, I had a hard time deciding which to feature! Here are two of my favorites.
6. Introduce “the new you.”
When a child or teenager starts going to a new school, they often view it as an opportunity to see themselves and present themselves in a new light. In fact, any time is a great time to roll out You 2.0. It might be a version of yourself that’s more confident, more fun, gentler and kinder, more intellectual, or more health-minded.
You may think that people have an established idea of who you are. But the truth is, when you change, the people around you update their image of you. Even if you’ve been in the same town for forty years, you can redefine yourself however and whenever you like.
Am I talking about faking it? Absolutely not. You know how I was talking about bullying? A lot of us grew up with a lot of negative messages about who we were. In some ways, we’ve been talked out of being ourselves. But we can say to hell with all that and be the person we were really meant to be.
Are you busy getting kids back to school? Do you have emotions about this time of year or the memories it brings? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
I used to look forward to school every September, even though my experience was the same as yours. But shopping for the supplies held so much promise and excitement! I still get excited by an empty notebook and a new pen.
Carolyn, after I wrote this, I thought, “Am I the only one?” Haha. I’m glad I’m not! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Thank you for making me aware of why I made some changes in my routine over the weekend. I dumped Face Book from my phone. I am disciplined enough to not check social media on my laptop until the end of my writing day. Face Book is a time drain for me.i am determined to limit my time there.
I’m spending the next two or three days cleaning and reorganizing my office, preparing for a fall and winter of intense writing. Anyway, that’s the plan.
And your idea of new school clothes is a grand one. I’ve never shopped E-bay. Perhaps I’ll give it a look.
Bonnie, you’re so smart. Facebook is SUCH a time drain! I track my time there so I don’t overdo it. I love it that you’re clearing the space—physically and mentally—for a productive period of writing.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, and for sparking some great ideas for back to school. I can’t believe you had those issues in school. I did too, which brings back memories. Yet, I was also a special needs preschool assistant and so I have those memories front and center, which is good. For me, as an adult, back to school time means organizing and starting over, much like spring cleaning. Its a time to start thinking about how the year will wrap up and goals. Have a wonderful week!!!
Hi Savannah! I bet being a special needs preschool assistant gave you a whole new perspective on school. They were so lucky to have you to help them. 🙂 Have a wonderful week yourself!
As a mom and teacher I have Mixed feelings about going back to school. This year will be especially difficult after a 3-week strike last spring. Ever since I started writing I hate giving up the extra time, but I also know that I tend to be more productive when I have less time so there’s that.
Some other movies…Grease 2 which I know Folks love to hate, but I love it. The musical number “Back to school” is fun. Buffy is a great watch, heck even Twilight is fun before starting school again. I’m also a fan of the 80s movie Teachers with Nick Nolte and Summer School with Mark Harmon!
This week I will insanely try to do all the things and get my kids emotionally ready. I have A freshman and a senior this year. Transitions = drama, so wish me luck! Take care!
Hi R.L.! Wow…you do have a lot to deal with, with this back-to-school season! I hope everything goes well. I love your recommendations…I should watch Buffy again. One of my all-time faves!
I did like school, especially elementary and middle school. I always started the year with SUPER GRAND goals and ideas. I had the new clothes which were picked as outfits, new planner which I wrote in all the time, so organized, and the goal of do my homework right after school every day. None of it lasted. I would like to get this back to school feeling back. Maybe I should get a new outfit. 😉 Or get rid of a lot of old ones!
I totally nerd out when it comes to school supplies. I LOVED getting those Lisa Frank folders, oh man there were so many cool ones!!!!! I have a bunch of journals calling for me to write more right now but I could incorporate some kind of supply run or even more organization when it comes to my writing.
This is such an awesome idea I really appreciate you sharing. I will plan to “start school” this fall even as I don’t have kids to send off. Organization and scheduling could do me some good. Thank you!
Yes! I always started the school year with grand goals. 🙂 I’m so glad I’m not the only one who would nerd out about school supplies! I wondered if anyone else would know what I was talking about there! Haha. Oh man, Lisa Frank. I wonder if that kind of thing is still available? Thanks for commenting, and thanks for the kind words!
Great ideas. The start of school and Septemeber feels more like the beginning of a new year than January ever does.
Thanks! I agree… Even though I’ve been out of school for so long, September and the beginning of the academic year feels more like a fresh start to me.
My best memory of starting school was not for myself, but my little cousin, Jimmy. I babysat all summer for my aunt. Times were tough for my aunt and for our family. The day school started she asked me to get her three children ready for school before I went to my own school. There were no new clothes for any of them, but when I looked for something for Jimmy to wear there was no shirt in his drawer or in the closet. I couldn’t even find a dirty shirt in the hamper or under his bed. Nothing.
The kids and I rushed to my house, seven blocks away, and I told Mom about our dilemma. She found a new piece of fabric and, without a pattern, she cut out a shirt and then sewed it up in time for me to get the kids back home and off to school.
Jimmy always remembered my Mom making him a NEW shirt for school.
Bryn, in a previous post you mentioned an open submission you were involved with. How would I get more information about submitting for next time?
Oh yes! Well the next open submission is coming right up: https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/hallmark-publishing/write-for-us BUT, we’ll have at least one open submission in 2020!
Thank you so much, Bryn, for pointing me to the submission information! Perhaps for the next open submission I can have something ready about My Mom the Miracle Worker.
Jessie, wow! That is quite a story. I wonder if you’ll use it in your writing sometime? Amazing. Great post. Thank you!
You always have the best suggestions. Thank you.
Aww, thanks Bryan! Hope you’re having a good week. 🙂
I absolutely love this idea. I always get so envious of my writer friends with their cute notebooks and gear while I use basic black and white. I’m gunna have ot hit up Target tomorrow to get me a new notebook. It’s almost time to start beta reading after all. Why not get a new notebook to start developing a new idea while I wait for the feedback to come in for analysis?
Erin, YES, go treat yourself! You deserve it, especially right now while you’re waiting for feedback. 🙂
LOL I’m a teacher. Today was our first day back to school. (High school history.)
We do first day outfits and everything. 🙂
Fun suggestions. You have ‘made’ me go buy a new ‘back to school’ outfit (jeans and a silky blouse) for my writing days as well as my teaching days (just began my first creative writing class of the season last night). One of my writing students from last spring made me a gorgeous new journal with her paintings of flowers inside. I should start writing in it, but its so beautiful, I don’t want to mark the pages! Happy September and Fall writing!