When it came to childhood the one thing that I never looked forward to the most was having to start a new school year from scratch, and expect the unexpected with some things that may seem familiar, and other things that wouldn't. So pull up your uncomfortable wooden school desk chair and have a read....

School supplies

Usually the first thing to start off with is what specific materials you'll need as it's listed from the school, you know the drill, glue, manilla folders, binders, number two pencils, markers, rulers, then you have to put time in labeling which folders went to whichever subjects you had, it was certainly a good time waster but at least I could organize it all within a day.

Classroom layout/size

Sometimes being introduced to either a new grade meant bigger (or smaller) classrooms depending if you were in the school itself, or heck even a trailer as some schools would have as they would be packed with students. Sometimes the combination of sitting in the back in a big classroom may have been a good thing though, as the teacher would almost never know if you were doodling instead of working on a paper.

Free lunch requirements

Getting past a meal with showing the lunchladies that you're eligible for free lunches had different requirements over the years. I went from wearing a nametag, to showing a paper slip, to typing in a seven digit number on a small machine keypad, it's like the schools that I went to couldn't make up their minds on what to stick with. Honestly I think the digit number was the best idea, as I wasn't the only one losing that paper slip from time to time.

The weaker subjects

I have to admit, easily the weakest subjects for me over time were math and history. Math, because it got very complex the farther I got in grades, and history because I was always left with this big book that I had to give my own summary on and memorize, sometimes requiring writing a book report on through computer, some of my afternoons from school felt pretty long when doing the homework as well.

Situations on the bus

Whether on your way to school or heading home for the day, there were some days when something unsettling would happen, a fight between two kids could break out, maybe someone will be bold to let out a swear or two, or maybe a nasty spill of vomit would spew across the bus walkway between the seats. Whatever the case was, I had to expect the worst and just let my mind wander while making sure to pay attention where the bus was going.

Bullies

Easily the worst on the list, bullies in my younger years were thankfully far and few between but were still a thorn in my side. Being out of eyesight of the teachers could mean an easy target of getting rocks slung at me, being trusting to lend someone some leftover lunch money I had only for them to never pay me back, and simply getting made fun of for my appearance were just some of the usual problems I had with them.

The good and bad of the teachers

During some of my years I had a good amount of well mannered teachers that I admired, some even had a great sense of humor, while even having those vibes of Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus. But it wasn't without its share of other teachers who could have an easy temper, one of my earliest teachers seemed to have this bipolar issue, she could be cheerful one day, and bitter the next. Once I had a dentist appointment, and she gave me this cold response saying "you're late!" and I kept quiet for a majority of the day.

Locker combinations

When it came to those very short breaks inbetween classes, I had my issues with how picky the locks were for lockers that I eventually just started using keylocks. You had to be very precise with inputting the numbers and in some instances when you think you got it right, you have to start over out of frustration because you're running against time. I once just gave up and carried all of my books, killing my back until finally a teacher consulted me about it.

What memories did you have when you had to start a fresh new year of school? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!