It's been a long time since I had a first day of school picture. Josh snapped this just before I walked out the door on my first day. I left an hour early. We'd been warned parking spots might be difficult to find and well I take those warnings very seriously. I, however, found a great parking spot right away and had 45 minutes to kill. I called my parents. I might be 32 but it's still nice to get some last minute reassurance from Mom and Dad. Armed with a few more "you can do it's!" I wandered the campus for a bit. First making a beeline for my class, just to make sure I knew where it was and then trying to act casual by wasting the last few minutes in the bookstore. I'm sure I looked like I needed to take a deep breath and relax a bit.
My first classroom was very unintimidating. It's half of a modular building. Tiny, with long narrow tables. It was surprising to me how easy it was to chat with the other students coming in. I thought I might stick out as the "old" person, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. I'm happily in the middle of the age range. There were three grandparents in that first class.
When it was time for the second class it was a pleasant surprise to find out that half a dozen people from my first class were also in my second class. There are lots and lots of people going for nursing right now. But the great thing is me and two other gals have already banded together. Now I can look forward to study sessions and knowing if I miss something I have someone to go to.
I told Josh last night that I felt like an old part of me was coming back. But then I realized that wasn't quite true. It's an entirely new part of me that I've never really experienced before. In three days I've grown in confidence. I've discovered that I can still learn and I really enjoy it. I don't think I ever sat through a class without daydreaming and staring at the clock. Now, I'm interested and excited to learn new things. Last night in my biology class we were learning about chemistry..atoms, nuetrons, protons, electrons, etc. My brain was exploding. I asked a lot of questions. My new friend Lindsay leaned over and said "you ask the best questions." I beamed inside. I love this!
The best part is I get to come home and share it with Josh. He's had three great nights with the boys and I'm so glad they get to have that father/sons time. His support and encouragement is what makes this such a wonderful experience.
