The First Day Back-to-School
Brad in front of St Ignatius College Prep, Chicago
I dropped my youngest off today for her first day of High School, as so many parents are doing this week.
Back-to-School time can be stressful for both children and their parents as we all learn to adjust and adapt to the new school year — new teachers, new friends, and new schools.
During this exciting and anxious time, my mind traveled back to my own back-to-school experience, and how I made it through.
What helped me make it through High School, and to TRHIVE, was that I had an ace up my sleeve for dealing with High School, something to help me both navigate the tumultuous social scene and to maintain my sense of self.
1980’s High School
Most of the other Freshman in High School came from the same few neighborhoods and went to a couple of the same Middle Schools so they either knew each other, or they knew of each other.
While they came to school comfortable, seeing familiar faces and easily fitting into their already-established social groups, I was alone.
No one from my neighborhood went to my High School, no one remotely close to my neighborhood went to my High School.
In a word it was stressful, in another word it was terrifying.
In a startling moment of poor judgement, I wore white pants and a yellow striped rugby on my first day. Hey, it was the 80’s, but still, way to bright for the first day of high school.
I could hear and even feel the behind-my-back snickers as I waited in the lunch line.
It was awful.
The Ace Up My Sleeve
What got me through High School was that ace I had up my sleeve.
I had a place to could flee to and find sanctuary from the world of St. Ignatius College Prep, a place where I had already earned a bit of status through hard work and sweat, a place where no one knew ANYONE from High School nor did they care.
Retreating from the stress of High School, I would grab my bag, hop in the car, and get driven to one of my favorite places in Chicago.
I would walk through the front door and proceed directly to the changing room, undress, put on a different pair of white pants, a matching white top, and finished off my ensemble with a bright yellow belt.
No one laughed.
No one snickered as I walked to the edge of the mat, bowed in, and took my place at the end of the line for my martial arts class.
Regular attendance at Dragon Wind, my martial arts school, the ace up my sleeve I didn’t tell anyone at High School about was my “third place,” a place beyond Home and High School where I could be myself and work on myself so I could function better in the first two places.
Now, I tell families that Scornavacco Martial Arts Academy is the steady, safe space for students to retreat to so they can renew and recharge, so they can “power-up” to face the ongoing, changing challenges of school.