i love school, part 1 of 5

the 2009-2010 school year has begun without me. this has been quite a shock to me, mostly because i love school. currently, i am 25 years old. 20 of the 25 have been spent in school and the missing 5 were the first 5 years of my life (i did not officially attend pre-school as the trend is now.) anyway, this is the first year of my life that i am not attending school or teaching school (and i only taught one year of the three without also attending school.)

the beginning of school was always special. i went back to school shopping (yes, even as a teacher), bought at least one new outfit and school supplies. i bought more supplies as a teacher, some just for fun - like the post-it notes that were shaped in an a. and g. i loved the first day of school. i always remember the morning being cooler (even though it was august) and crisp. i got up on time, which may have been the only time the whole year. even when i had to ride the bus my sophomore year or carpool with the neighbors my junior year, it was still reassuring that i could be on a schedule and see my friends.

i sometimes associate smells with memory, i'm sure many of you do, and it is no exception with school. actually the smells may be stronger for school. for instance:

when i think of elementary school, i smell pencil shavings. most of my elementary 1st-5th grade was spent at bountiful christian elementary school. i went to public school in kindergarten, i still have the year book. back to b.c., the whole school, except the preschool - was housed in a large portable - there were two bathrooms, four classrooms, and a hallway with cubbies and coat hangers for backpacks. my mom taught there and actually taught me for 3rd, and i think 4th grade. my first grade teacher was mrs. clem or something like that and my fifth grade teacher was named mrs. robinson or robison (it is because of that class that i will always remember how to spell courageous) anyway - the writing utensil of choice in elementary is usually the pencil (the early grades at least) and that is why i remember the smell. the garbage can smells like shavings because the sharpener hung over it; the desks smelled like shavings because they would coat the inside of the desk with graphite, and some kids would etch things into the desk. i have many fond memories of elementary school and surprisingly, i can remember a lot more than most people. the few that stick out are: i had twin friends that had 7-up in their thermoses every day and we called it water because you weren't allowed to have soda pop at school. i lost my two front teeth when i slid under a parked car in the parking lot while we were playing tag. my first "boyfriend" was adam watkins in first grade. his mom also taught at the school and probably taught me in 2nd grade now that i think about it. i learned about greenday and the offspring in fifth grade while we played hackysack and sting at recess. and last but not least, our school was right off of i-15 and 5th south (the hotel and car dealership occupy the space now) and we were used as a sort of triage when there was a giant car pileup during the winter one year. people were hurt and waiting for rides and the ambulance came into our parking lot, it was crazy.

what do your elementary memories smell like?

p.s.

this post is going to be five posts long. so as to keep you wondering and not too bored because it is too long! coming soon, jr. high! duh duh dun