To me, school is fun. I love going in each day and getting to work. Each day is something new, and when I wake up six in the morning, I am excited to begin my day. It has always been this way for me.
With this, I know most people do not exactly seem to feel the same about school. There is a reason why TV shows more often show kids counting down to summer break and cheering when the last bell rings than counting down to the first day of school. The world is full of more Bart Simpsons than Lisa Simpsons when it comes to school.
That is why I was so surprised when I saw so many people saying they were missing the educational grind. Many of the people I heard saying this were the same people that would complain about school and have perpetual frown on their face. It actually made me a bit mad that the complainers were suddenly the ones praising school.
In doing research for this article, I found what I expected to find. Humans naturally take things for granted. It is a part of human nature to miss something once it is gone.
Most of the research I found was about relationships. Elite Daily says that when one has recently ended a relationship, they miss all the good parts. It is likely that a person remembers what started the relationship and all the good memories along the way. But if someone gets back into that relationship, there is a good chance they will wonder why they ever got back into a relationship. Once the relationship revs back up, odds are that the couple will remember all the bad things.
It is not to say that because there are not bad moments, a relationship cannot work. No relationship is perfect. Two people cannot see exactly eye-to-eye on every little thing, but there are still successful relationships.
This is where we can look at our relationship with school. I love school, but I do not love every moment. Do I enjoy taking a Spanish test? God no. That is an excruciating part of any day, but it is just one small part of any given day. This is a common theme seen in the remedies found online for taking things for granted. The website Tiny Buddha says to remember the joy of a sunny day on a rainy one Another online source, The Odyssey, says to live in the moment and forget the past. The Internet is full of proposed solutions to the problem.
According to a poll of FHS students, 82% believe they will like school more when they are allowed to come back. Of course, one cannot read much into that. When two people break up, they remember the good. We are in that period right now. Whether or not the negative perception of school changes when students return is a mystery only time can solve.
Ronald Chapman, creator of Seeing True, a company dedicated to changing people to a more positive attitude, told a story of meeting people from Zimbabwe. They were so appreciative of working phones, airplanes that run on time and refrigerators that work. Just like it is easy to forget these things, it is easy to forget the great education that we are receiving.
From now on, it is time to focus on the good. Right now, there is a lot of bleak news, sad stories and a lack of hope. Once we return to the new normal after this, remember how you felt without school. Then be happy we have it. As we have learned, we do not know when we will lose it.