West Coast Mermaid

For the first time in sixteen years, this is the first September I did not go back to school. I graduated high school and did the four post-secondary education years that adults recommend you do. After completing all that, I have no desire to go back to school, at least not right now. There is always a chance down the road to go back and study something else but for now I just want to see what life has to offer without a routine involving school. 

It dawned on me a couple weeks ago while working that, right now, I just work and then do what I want with my life. There’s no homework to come home to and finish by the due date. I can fill my time with whatever I want. It’s both freeing and a weird new reality.

I totally get that a lot of people don’t like going back to school, and it’s over romanticized, but I always enjoyed that new transition feeling. I’m feeling melancholic for the atmosphere of a fresh start and a new sense filled with promise. Yet now I have the choice to make a fresh start for myself whenever I want. There is nothing holding me back from completely changing my life. I could decide to move countries, quit or find a different job, and can experience so many new things without the constraints of an educational commitment.

One movie scene that I always loved as a child was an opening scene in The Barbie Diaries, where Barbie and her friends go watch the sunset the night before the first day back to school. They basically share what their goals for the year are and manifest them. It’s kind of silly but I always enjoyed it. This is something we can all do when looking at our lives, knowing what we want and working towards achieving our goals.

I hope that this year, we all become a better person than we were the year prior.