the beginning

The smell of new plastic mingles with the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. Your mind flutters with new to-dos, textbooks, and vocaublary words. 
Even though it's the time of year everybody seems to dread, there is that part of you, deep down, that can't wait.
You're almost on edge and there is this tingly excitement there for it to begin, but you can't figure out why.
With the laying out of new clothes, empty backpacks, and binders full of un-written-on paper, comes the readiness of a new year.
You know this year will bring tough times for sure, and you are prepared. But another part of you says, "bring it on". 
As you get in bed the night before, with everything prepared for the day to come, you can't fall asleep. 
You lay, staring at the ceiling, wondering and imagining what the next day will hold.
As you step out of your door to begin the first day of school, ready for anything, with a bring-it-on attitude. 
Clean notebooks, packed lunch boxes, sharpened pencils, planned out agendas...
And with your backpack riding on your shoulders, packed with everything you need to face the world, you take a step out the door.