Back to school...

But for the first time, not as a student. A bunch of my new friends in Japan have been out of school for a little while, so for a moment I almost forgot that it is noteworthy that the calendar changed from August to September and I still haven't moved back into Young O, or had Meik Orientation, or met with my new group of first years, or tore apart the course catalog looking for just the right class to round out my schedule. It wasn't until I looked through my fb newsfeed, or some other unexpected reminder of the sort, when I realized that that this September is a very different one than the ones that I have had in a long long while...

However, the change from August to September did bring about other sorts of school-related anxiety. I gave a speech in front of the teachers at their welcome-back staff meeting in both English and Japanese. Trying to figure out my class schedules and realizing that I'd been stressing out over making lessons that weren't for another week. Making a speech in front of all the students without a microphone but while wearing indoor slippers with my suit attire, trying not to feel utterly ridiculous. Meeting students, meeting teachers. Meeting a new teacher for the first time the morning before our first lesson...lol.

It's really not all stress though, most of these worries are things that I make stressful for myself. It's all about going with the flow, not taking things too seriously, and realizing that these initial feelings are just nervousness that will die down as I get more experience...and it's funny actually...because depending on what way (however roundabout it is) my future ends up, this year's back to school, but from the teacher side, type of August to September change might actually be the first of many to come?

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