Back to School

Ten years is such a long time, yet I can still remember scrambling to get in my last Chaucer paper, scribbling pencil into those little blue final books till my hands ached, and the feeling of elation when it was all finally over.

At Smith, where I spent my college years, there's this fantastic tradition during the reading period before finals. Just around that point in studying when you feel like your head is about to fall off, each student abandons her books and computers, goes out into the quiet Northampton night, and screams her head off. The feeling of catharsis is unbelievable - something I wished to repeat after my last finals as a senior.

This weekend I'm going back to school for my ten-year reunion. I can't wait to see old friends, visit old haunts, remember all the quirky rituals, smell all those musky books in the library. There's a terrific literary tradition at Smith - with alumnae like Madeleine L'Engle, Sylvia Plath, Ann M Martin (of Baby Sitter's Club fame), and Jane Yolen. Knowing this as a student always inspired me to write. And now that I'm on the brink of submitting my first completed manuscript, the timing of going back feels oddly perfect.

Do you have a reunion or graduation to attend this year? Along with my own milestone, I have a niece graduating high school next month -which means she's quickly leaving her YA years behind! Unfortunate for me, since she is one of my informants for contemporary high school information!