Back to Schooled

You know what I miss?

Back to school shopping.

It's been YEARS since I've actually needed to go shopping for school supplies and stuff... probably because it's been years since I've been to school. I took an evening art class last fall, sure, but that doesn't count. Heck, I didn't even get to buy new folders for my Trapper Keeper.

Shoot, do they even MAKE Trapper Keepers anymore?

Even when I was a kid, back when I actually hated clothes shopping, I still liked having new clothes for the first day of school. I always thought I looked so dapper. Of course, "dapper" wasn't really a good look for a kid of ten years old, so I still got picked on. Darn you, orange-striped polo shirts!

Even when I'd moved off to college, when "back to school" shopping meant buying textbooks, I found I actually enjoyed the process. Since I was an English major, "textbooks" were actually just a bunch of novels and poetry books. I spent at least as much money on books as a bunch of the math majors I knew, but I got nearly twenty times the number of books. No joke - one semester, I got thirty six books for the same price as the one massive textbook my comp-sci roommate had to get for a single class. It was pretty awesome.

Sadly, I no longer have the excuse of a first day of school to get me out the door to buy new books, clothes, and supplies. Yet I still get the same thrill from filling a shopping cart with pencils and notebooks. I still relish the sensation of freshly-ironed denim against my skin. I still thrill at the thought of dropping $200 on a bunch of books I've never heard of before.

Maybe I'll go back to school shopping anyway.