Back to School, Back to School, to Prove I am No Fool...

Billy Madison spoke it best about why it's important to go back to school.  It got me thinking - today marked the first day of school for my students.  Hard to believe summer came and gone, but here we are back in the school year.  With that I'd like to give my personal top 10 countdown as to why one should enjoy the start to a new school year:

1) New outfits.  I remember growing up my sister and I would always do our back to school shopping, which included hitting up the local mall. (Shout out to Woodland Mall)  Unfortunately, my high school had a strict dress code, so I just had a plethora of collared shirts.  But, I did get to break out NEW collared shirts every year.  There's always a positive.

2) Getting back into the routine.  As much as we all enjoy galavanting around in the summertime, it's nice to have a little routine here and there.  I personally like being busy and the school year aids in that sense of business.  Maybe that's why I've continued to work in education...

3) Meeting new people.  A new school year means new people coming into school and the opportunity to make lots of new friends.  I have 750 people living in my building that just want to meet one another.  What a neat thing.  Part of what makes my job most exciting is getting a whole new batch of these first year students to help them with their college transition.  

4) Holding on to the summer anthem.  There's always a song that sort of summed up the summertime.  And although school's back in session, you can still jam out to that song and feel like you're still on vacay.  I think my favorite summer anthem that will take me back will have to be "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk.  Simply amazing.

5) Football season.  I know we've spent the summer enjoying America's pastime, but nothing beats watching a good college football game.  Enough said.

6) Crisp Fall air.  It's just around the corner.  Bust out those layering sweaters and boots - we're almost there!  And nothing smells better that taking in that crisp air, who's with me?!

7) Learning stuff.  Come on, our brains want to learn and absorb as much information as possible.  We might as well be useful and put more fun facts into it.

8) Free stuff.  Working on a college campus opens the flood gate for cool programs that come with a lot of free stuff.  For example, this upcoming Thursday, there will be a festival to celebrate our student organizations on campus with food, fun and prizes followed by an outdoor movie showing of The Great Gatsby!  All free!  Count me in!

9) Have I mentioned football season?  I'm sorry, I'm just so geeked to watch some football, preferably my Buckeyes (O-H)!

10) The countdown begins.  Although we're excited for the year to start, of course the countdown begins until the next break.  You've always got to have something to look forward to!

Happy Learning!

Best. (and shortest) Reunion. Ever.

To be honest, MTV has fallen off my radar as a station that I frequent.  I don't frequent TV in general, but when I do it tends to just be a lot of HGTV.  This changed earlier this week with the announcement that Justin Timberlake would possibly be reuniting with the group that started his career, *NSYNC.  I was so excited with the thought, I could have peed myself with glee.  Too much?  Let me further explain.  *NSYNC was my boyband.  Hands down.  I saw them twice in concert, once just following their Disney Special (please check out this link... their outfits are priceless) and the second on their first arena tour (they never came back to Grand Rapids after that performance because they blew up).  Following these live concert experiences, I often rushed home after school to turn on TRL to see Carson Daly play their videos, and on several occasions they were special guests of the show.  And although now I totally think JT brought sexy back, in 1998 I was mad crushin' on JC Chasez.  Obvi.

So, for the first time in years I had my girlfriends over for a little VMA viewing party.  We commentated on the outfits (or lack thereof).  We watched the performances (and were appalled by Miley Cyrus).  We ate cake (it was delicious).  We painted our nails (they look semi-professional).  And we freaked out the entire Justin Timberlake performance (duh).  For 20 minutes we were back in high school.  And I couldn't have been happier.  If anyone else noticed, JT started with more recent songs and slowly worked his way back to the *NSYC tribute.  So what if only 3/5 of the group are in shape? Sorry, Chris and Joey.  Love you both, but those jackets looked a little tight.  Granted, you still were able to seriously bust a move. It was the most amazing minute and a half of my recent life.  I was transported back into the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids, MI.  I was in seventh grade again, screaming my head off for 5 guys that sang of teen love and heartbreak. 

Tonight's performance gave me hope.  Boybands of the past have been making major comebacks.  This summer NKOTB, 98 Degrees, and Boyz II Men toured the nation. Could this be the start of *NSYNC's new beginning?!  I sure hope so.  Here's to wishful thinking.  Until then, I'll just jam out on Spotify in my office to their classics like "Digital Getdown," "Space Cowboy," "Here We Go," "Girlfriend," and "Dirty Pop."  Don't judge me.