First Day of School Photo

By: Rebekah Beachum

I was always one of those kids that loved going to school. The first day of a new year was like Christmas; I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, and I always woke up way too early for my parents. My mom would gather my sister and I (and my brother when he got old enough) and we'd take a first day of school photo, each time holding our lunchboxes, backpacks, instruments, sports bags, and books we'd forgotten to take in early. It was something we could count on each year through the time I graduated from high school. When I came to college, I sent pictures of my first day to my mom, just so she could feel like she was there.

I had my last class today. Ever. In the chaos and excitement of graduation, I think I forgot that each day meant growing closer to the last time I would learn in a classroom. It's bittersweet to realize that in the fall, I won't take a first day of school photo. The next picture of me academically will be vastly different from my first: instead of a jumper and Mary Janes with a backpack way too big for me (that truly had nothing in it), I will be in a cap and gown, graduating college.

Despite the change in setting, the age difference, and the ability now to control the hair on my head, I plan to hold onto my love of learning. I think what I looked forward to most every single school year was that I knew I would learn something new about me, other people, and life in general. This truly does not stop where the classroom does. I'm curious to step out and figure out life in a new way in my personal and professional world, and I'll always remember the first day of school excitement when I do it.