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First day of school – lifetime in prison

August 29, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Jasen Obermeyer

Several years ago, one evening, a couple of my friends and I visited our old elementary school during the middle of the school’s summer vacation. We walked around the property, seeing the changes made to the school, and just looked back on our time there. Waves of nostalgia kept hitting us, bringing back all those memories, and transporting us back to a different world.

Weird, because I never thought I’d miss jail. Yeah, clearly I didn’t enjoy going to school.

With the new school year right around the corner, it impacts the whole family in different ways. Maybe it’s the child’s first day ever, at even daycare, or a first day going to a new school, high school or college. As a parent, you see your child growing up, having to let go a bit, starting a new chapter in their lives. It’s a unique experience, especially for the person going to school, as it’s a big moment for them.

I remember my first day of Kindergarten. My parents put me in the car, and as we started going down the driveway, I was banging on the window calling out for my Nonna to rescue me, save me, from a place I dreaded. I was in tears waiting for that dreaded yellow bus.

What a way to start my life sentence. We only had a few wardens change through the years, but every year we got a new captain of the guards and a different cell block. And as the years went by, new inmates joined our class.

I always hated school, even the fun of Kindergarten. I put up such a fight that my mom promised she’d take me home if I went there and drew her some pictures. Well, the next day, late morning, she received a phone call from the school, saying I wanted to talk to her. I told her I drew some pictures, so she’d have to come get me. Boy, what a lie that was!

But eventually, I accepted my fate and tried to make the best of it. Fortunately, my parents and Nonna didn’t have to drag me down our 700-foot driveway. Of course, I still counted down the days to the weekend, various holidays, March Break, and the big one, summer vacation. And always lamented at seeing back-to-school commercials, knowing my freedom was ticking away. The final day of vacation was always sad, and going to bed was just unhappy.

I now look back on all those wonderful years. The friendships made, countless upon countless memories created; Playday, track and field, school plays and events, and holiday celebrations. Recess, playing games around the yard, in the winter creating snow forts, those moments you cherish forever. So many it’s impossible to really justify telling it all, or even a few.

Overall, it was a good time. But then, restarting it all with high school. Anxiety taking over on that long bus ride. It was only four years, but felt longer, that it took away more. Then, driving myself to university. Oh, I was willingly going? Yes, but it was a long drive. The freedoms of post-secondary were a little difficult to get used to, like not having to ask to use the bathroom and more freedom in setting up my class schedule.

As Red said in The Shawshank Redemption, “These walls are funny. First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them.”

With adulthood, I certainly miss those walls and hallways. The track, playground, open fields, basketball court. Life was simpler, easier there. It was structured, there was order. Does school really prepare you? Or make you institutionalized? The pressures and demands of being an adult in the real world, all the uncertainty, responsibilities, stress, and at times, fear. Like Red, I want to go back to where things make sense, where I don’t have to be afraid all the time.

Looking back, it felt like a breeze to go through it all. Just wish I felt that in the moment.

Every year since my friends and I went, I drive there, and bike around in the middle of summer. And each time I do, new memories long forgotten come to mind. By the time I leave, I feel a mixture of nostalgia, melancholy, happiness, and longing.

And when my friends and I get together, usually our time in school comes up, each of us reminding the others of memories created. We actually went in a few years after graduation to see some old teachers, and the place felt much smaller, or we felt too big. It was weird.

School is a very interesting time of your life. It plays a big role in your development, setting you up for the future. You and your parents both fear it – but for different reasons. It’s difficult for all who take part.

So whether it’s your last first day of school, your first day starting a new chapter, or your first day ever, appreciate your time there. Might seem like jail, but it’s the easiest part of your life.

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