It’s been seven years since I last got ready for a new school year. Well, as a student, at least. After college I spent my first two years as a “professional” – yes, with quotes – working in a university environment with my schedule still dictated by academia. So I’m five years removed, if you’re splitting hairs. And after all this time I still feel like I operate on the academic calendar. Which means that I feel like a new year is starting, right now.
I understand why we use the Gregorian calendar and all, but this time of year, this season of change, still feels more like the start of a new year than January 1st ever has.
Because, let’s face it, nothing exciting besides a couple of bowl games happens in early January. It’s the dead of winter. No changes are due for a few months when spring will finally save us from the frigid wintry abyss. What is there to celebrate in January? What is there that feels new?
But the beginning of September? Summer is winding down, school and football are starting up, and I’m reading The Lord of the Rings again. These are major events, people. l think it’s time that we acknowledge their significance.
To paraphrase Ben Gibbard as the calendar rolls into September: this is the new year, and I feel like it’s crazy pretending it’s not.
Songs & Stories 