Back to School, Back to School...

Confession: I love school. There, I said it. All teenagers reading this blog (if there are any, and I don't think there are) may now scream and groan aloud. I love many things about school, specifically college; more specifically, my alma mater: Utah State University.

I could say that these musings came about as a result of the upcoming beginning of the school year. I could say that, as the second year of my not being in school comes upon me, I'm growing nostalgic. This is not the case, though I am feeling a tad nostalgic.

Actually, these ponderings came about as a result...of a food craving. I was at work the other day and thought to myself, "Gee, I'd really love a Marv 'n' Joe right about now". For those who don't know, a Marv 'n' Joe is a Utah State specialty, made at Hazel's in the Hub. It involves provolone cheese, tomato, garlic spread, salt, and pepper (though I always got it without the pepper) toasted on the bread of your choice (I always got white). It is delicious.

Food is one thing that I miss about being on campus. In addition to the fabulous Marv 'n' Joe, there's also the Scotsman dog (cheese filled hamburger in the shape of the hot dog) and asiago cheese bagels (okay, I know you can get these other places, but the ones are campus are really good).

I also miss the feel of being on campus: being able to sit for hours doing homework without anyone bothering you, taking naps on the leather couches without the fear of being judged, taking in the gorgeous views of the mountain and the valley. The Utah State campus is lovely year round.

But I don't just miss campus; I do miss being a student. Don't mistake me; I'm extremely glad that I've got my English degree, complete with official diploma. I just miss a few things. I miss structured learning. I loved every one of my English classes. I loved being in a room of people who are just a little bit crazy, taking apart texts and sharing insights with each other. I miss laughing at jokes that only English majors get.

I miss buying books, and slowly letting the desire to buy all new books fade away into the reality of needing to buy used to save money, then trying to decide the level of quality you want when surfing for the books on amazon. Ah, school.

Now, to make it fair, I should mention a few things that I don't miss about school.
-I don't miss homework. I liked most of the reading I had, and I even enjoyed paper writing, but I didn't enjoy having to do those things. I now love the fact that at any given moment, I don't have any pressing business. I mean, I still have things I need to do, but I can generally rearrange things if something comes up.
-I don't miss being on campus in the winter. During this cold, incredibly long season, the canyon winds get going strong enough to literally take your breath away. I spent one especially frigid winter with the hood of my very thick coat up and my scarf covering my mouth so just my eyes were showing. Very, very cold.

I'm sure there's more on either side of the list, but there they are. Thanks for indulging in this moment of remembrance with me :)