As September is upon us, it always makes me think of how I feel this in the start of a new year. Yeah, I know January 1st is usually thought upon as the beginning of the year, but for me, September always feels like a new beginning.
You see, I was one of those kids who actually looked forward to the school year starting. As a child I couldn’t wait to go shopping for new things for school. Yeah, my mom and I would hit the mall and buy new clothes for school, but my favorite part was when I would get new school supplies! Pens! Pencils! Notebooks! A vast array of crayons, markers and erasers. Me in the store, “mom, how about this, could I get this??” and my mother staying calm and saying, Now Nicholas, you don’t need new scissors and rulers every year, put them back.” But she did always manage to make sure I had the proper backpack. To this day, I carry a backpack to work. I’ve tried it all, messenger bags, briefcases, totes, you name it, I’m sure to have it somewhere. But I always go back to the backpack, or as they used to call it in my day, the bookbag. My boss and other managers in the office always look at me kinda strange that I carry a backpack to work. Another manager here uses his beach bag, so at least I’m not the craziest one here.
The point I’m getting to is that if you look around, August is a quiet month. Stores will close and give their workers a week or two off, most people go on a vacation, it seems like everyone is resting up for September. That’s because in September, the kids go back to school, the seasons change, the office tends to pick up a little more (since people have been taking vacation all summer long). Things pick up in September; it’s just a way of life. When I entered college, the iPhone wasn’t invented. Not that I’m old, it’s just that technology moves pretty fast. I was starting something new and wanted to make sure I was on top of everything I had to do. Between classes, activities, and being involved heavily on campus, I needed to make sure that I knew where I was going and when. The bookstore had nice compact Rider datebooks, which fit right in that front compartment of my backpack. But I didn’t want to have to buy one now and then a new one in January. Well, this was a special calendar, which started in September, and ended the September of next year. This was the calendar for me!
School gets it right, September is the beginning of the year for me. It is time to start anew. If you are looking for me this weekend, I’ll be getting some new supplies for school, uh, I mean my office.
Nicholas DeVito 