It’s just about fall and for the first time since I can remember I am not going to school. I have no sadness or nostalgia about this. I did well in school, but it was still hard both academically and socially. I am looking at the start of one of the most beautiful times of year where I live without any stress or anxiety buried down. All I have on my plate this fall is more writing, camping, and hiking. No longer is my life going to be about homework or getting papers done for class, nor is it about doing things I have to do. This fall isn’t about what I have to do but what I want to do. Here is my list of reasons why I am happy to be done with school!

1)Not taking classes because I have to

Putting time and money into a class just because I need it to fill the requirements that my school set out. Having to read books because they are part of the class not from choice.

2)No Homework

I hate homework more than just about anything unless it was writing for a creative writing class. Unless it was something that in many ways I was choosing to do.

3)Social Obligations

Feeling the need to have friends and not just friends but groups of friends. Especially in college and high school. I haven’t been part of a group of friends in high school or college, and it has been something I have struggled with.

4)Judging Myself

I judge myself on my grades, my friends, how social I am being. Overall I have had this pattern of comparing myself to other in the school setting every year. It feels so amazing to be free of that pattern and the judgment that I put onto myself.

5) Not having to see people I don’t want to

As a sensitive person, I tend to be selective about who I give my energy to. Being in school, I don’t get the chance to chose sometimes. I had friends that after a certain point we were no longer friends. It was tough to see them around campus or in classes. It is also hard when things happen behind the scenes like in my apartment and mutual friends that we had stopped being friends with me. Now, who I see can be a lot more selective and up to me!

6)Social Media

Seeing what other people are up to and again judging myself. I am so excited to be free of that.

It is a relief to me to be out of school and not have to deal with all of the things that I find stressful.