The Good Stuff

September 3, 2003.

It was the first day of school and I was ready to take on Ferrucci Jr. High as a “sevie”.  I had flourished at orientation a few days prior, learning how to open my locker, meeting the students below and beside me, and successfully tracking down my 6 classes all over the school.  I had watched my older sister enjoy her three years at Ferrucci so I had no conscious worry about what fun, excitement, and adventure lay ahead of me in my 7th grade year. 

However, as my mom meandered through neighborhoods, driving to drop me off for my first day, I lost confidence in my preparation.  Turning into the drop off line my stomach hit the floor and my heart started racing as I saw the school buzzing with excited students heading off to their first class.  As I stepped out of our beloved minivan my brand new shoes couldn’t carry me across the lawn and into the school.

I took a few steps and time stood still.  I was in fight or flight mode with everything in my little body wanting to take flight back in the van, never to step foot on the Ferrucci campus again.  But there was a small piece inside that told me to fight the urge to run and push on to conquer my first day of school.

I am proud to say that I walked into school that day and never looked back.  It was a defining moment for me.  I am confident that few experiences have rivaled the fear I felt that morning but few times have I felt such conviction that going backwards was not an option.  To become who we are, get what we want, and truly live life according to our dreams, we need to embrace change. 

The words: Change, Variation, Evolution, Alteration, Transformation, Adaptation, Expansion…This is the good stuff!

September inherently means change: changing grades, changing schools, changing of the weather, changing your wardrobe.  Since kindergarten each September signified new teachers, new friends, new knowledge, and new school clothes.  Looking back over the years I realize how much I have embraced new experiences and variations in life- some coming easier than others.  But unknowingly, I have fallen in love with the idea of expansion.  This year is the first year I will not be heading ‘back to school’.  I have graduated onto learning my newest lessons from experience rather than textbooks, being graded by my personal ambition rather than a professor, and measuring success in my ability to grow and learn instead of beating a class curve. 

I encourage you to enjoy the good stuff! Embrace the transformation this fall holds for you and remember a saying I learned from the ladies of the American Legion Auxiliary, “Forward ever, backward never. Within ourselves our future lies.”

Delightfully,

Melanie