#549 School field trip day

Neil Pasricha

It all starts with the permission slip.

Yes, when teachers send them home before the bell rings so parents can rubber stamp the bumpy yellow bus trip to the museum, then it’s on, my friends, it’s on.

Soon the days count down and the buzz builds up as the class gets ready for the day away from school. The middle-ages unit wraps up at Medieval Times, paintings are handed in before the art gallery, and everyone mails a friend a letter before the tour of the post office.

On the morning of the big day you wake up with some extra pep in your step because you know we’re all going far away. It’s time to skip the portables, soggy sandwiches, and long afternoons with the Spanish teacher.

It’s time to do something different.

It’s time … to go for a ride.

Yes, whether it’s the petting zoo, chocolate factory, or a long hike in the woods, it’s time to enjoy the school vacation with some of the following perks:

1. Subs in the house. Taking thirty screaming seven-year-olds to the planetarium is a bit much, so most teachers call in backups in the form of parent chaperones. These subs act like a sweet and sweatered army of substitutes and don’t know enough names or have enough power to mess up the fun. Of course, that’s assuming they’re not your mom or dad. If that happens, your day is done.

2. Wheels on the bus. They go round and round on the way there and back. Yeah, we all gang rush into the slippery seatbelt-free seats and enjoy a loud, laughing party on wheels. There are loud screechy songs, secret makeout sessions, and some friendly gestures at passing motorists. This is also when the classroom’s social structure is on display too — from the cool kids at the back to the nerds sitting with the teacher up front. I really did love sitting up front though. I mean, how about that view?

3. Sealing it in. A friend and I were strolling quickly through an art gallery a couple years back when we stumbled on a group of kindergartners holding a rope and looking at splotchy art paintings. I’ll never remember the jaw-dropping look of pure head-tilting amazement from the little boy at the end of the group — eyes twinkling, mittens hanging out his winter coat, and his whirring brain soaking and swallowing up something beautiful on the wall. And it’s true: field trips often help seal in the learning. Chalk one up for school.

So… let’s enjoy the memories, let’s enjoy the moments, and let’s enjoy the parking lot speed bumps. Yes, let’s all love those special days when dusty chalkboards fade away and buses wheel us down the freeway, far away, far away, far away.

AWESOME!

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Photos from: here, here, here, and here

2,210 thoughts to “#549 School field trip day”

  2. Tearing along the perforated line perfectly. Opening the top of a tissue box, along the edge of a new package, across the side of perforated notebook paper… it’s quite satisfying when you can tear it apart without accidentally ripping it off of the little perforated track.

    1. For a perfectionist like myself, this is totally satisfying! No messy edges… can’t beat that!

  3. One thing that is awesome is finding extra money in your wallet. Its so exciting and surprising.

    Maybe it came from a dollar you found on the street, or maybe is was from your friend from last night when he gave you money for the pizza. In any case, a few extra bucks is always awesome.

  4. Eating peanut butter out of the jar.
    Your mom always told you not to do it. “It’s disgusting!” she says. “Where are your table manners? Eat like a person.” So when you’re still a kid and sneaking behind her back, or all grown up and living on your own but still hearing her voice in your head, dipping your spoon into the jar feels just a little bit…naughty. You get to experience that rebellious, devil-may-care feeling, without actually doing anything wrong.
    (This also totally applies to drinking milk out of the carton, eating sprinkles plain, or any other condiment plain for that matter!)
    AWESOME!

  6. Tearing along a perforated line perfectly.

    Opening a tissue box by tearing off the perforated top, along the side of a new package, or across the edge of perforated notebook paper… it’s so nice to tear it without straying from the perforated track!

  7. Getting an unexpected text from someone… right when you need it. The moment you most needed someone to talk to.

    1. I was thinking the same thing. If you win, I’ll feel justified. :) and also even getting a getting a quick response back from someone you like.

  8. another awesome thing: when someone calls you right as you’re thinking of them. or when a song that is stuck in your head plays on the radio.

    1. Getting your braces off is awesome, as well.

      After years of getting chewy candy and bubble gum stuck in your teeth, it’s nice to be able to eat freely again :D

  11. Pretending you’re back in the pioneer days when the power goes out (whether it be for a few minutes to a few hours).

    This makes the experience less boring, and helps improve survival skills. Not to mention, it’s a nice escape from all those things that make us forget that sometimes we need to go back to the basics.

  12. When you randomly think about somebody and then a few seconds later, you’re phone rings, and it’s them!
    Also when you don’t really have any food in your apartment, and you and your roomies just throw everything you have together and it ends up being the most awesome thing you’ve ever tasted.

    1. I made some delicious salsa like that, the tragedy is that you don’t remember how to do it ever again and it becomes a legend. Some day I will tell my grandchildren of the Legendary Salsa of Deliciousness.

  13. ooh, I might actually buy this book (if I don’t win). and maybe place it in the bathroom so whenever i go, I can read a couple of happy things <3. that's another suggestion also!

  16. reading a good IM/email/facebook/etc conversation over and over again and just savour the fun

  17. I think its awesome when you’re laying in bed with someone, and its been a really good day, and just as you fall asleep, they snore so loud it makes you laugh. That simple gesture that they are comfortable and you are comfortable enough to laugh makes it awesome. It’s awesome, isn’t it?

  19. When you’ve seen a film so many times that you know pretty much all the lines, and can pull them out just before the actors do. All the movies on my iPod are like this.

    Tidying your room after its been a real mess for ages, you find all these things you’d lost. And even better you can lie on your bed afterward and just survey your masterpiece, you are the Michelangelo of organization.

    3. Love quoting movies! I watched Lord of the Rings this weekend and mouthed the lines through the entire thing. It gives you some awesome “know-it-all” power, doesn’t it?!

      1. Definitely, Love doing it for Pulp fiction and The Departed. On a related note when you have the lines from a movie memorized and you get the chance to use them in everyday life. Like when I ordered a Royale with Cheese at a McD’s in France, still waiting for someone to order a cranberry juice at a bar though…

  20. Finishing an exam and knowing you aced it.

    (And wearing a new pair of socks for the first time. So much better than wearing old socks.)

  21. Oh and when you are the first (or among the first) to see a new blog post or video, its like it was made just for you.

  22. Beating Out The Traffic Warden

    So, you park your car in the short-stay parking zone and head in to town to pick up a few items…and then forget about your car.

    Suddenly, a couple of hours later, the frightening thought dawns on you that your car has overstayed its welcome and you get filled with the sickening feeling that you have just become sixty quid lighter in pocket from the dreaded white ticket flapping away under your windscreen wiper.

    You grab up your shopping and hare it back to your car, readying all the excuses and apologies, and knowing that none of them will be heard. Cursing the traffic wardens and their nefarious deeds, knowing really that it is your own stupid fault for forgetting, you round the corner and spot your car…

    …and it hasn’t been ticketed!

    Relief rushes over you. You throw in your shopping, fire up the engine and hightail it out of there. Your accidental parking violation went unnoticed this time.

    AWESOME!

  23. hanging out and scanning the radio with the person you like, and you find a song that you love and start singing along to it, but they have never heard of it.

    then, they download it and it becomes one of their favorite songs :)

    1. Yesss! I LOVE “introducing” people to music that I love and they’ve never heard! :]

  24. The person at a funny movie who’s laugh lasts longer than everyone else’s.

    Because…man, they must have really liked that part!

  25. When you’re dressed perfectly for the weather…

    …because when you’ve found the perfect combination of clothing and you’re neither too hot nor too cold, you’re invincible baby!

  29. when you’re cutting your toenails and you score a toenail into the garbage can from long distance.

    AWESOME

  32. having the door held open for you. ESPECIALLY when you’re a decently long distance away, when it borders on being an awkward amount of time for that person to be holding it.

  35. It’s awesome the look my cat gives me when I scratch behind his ears. It’s true love…

  36. Goosebumps…

    …because (a) they mean you’ve just felt something really powerful, and (b) they’re really the only involuntary bodily activity you can get away with in public!

    1. Wow – i just meant to write that :)

      Goosebumps are great. They express something you cannot put in words.

  37. When you quickly find someone backing out of a really close parking spot during a busy day at the mall.

  39. Agreeing with a person who gives you a compliment.

    Say, you’re walking down the hallway/street/any other makeshift catwalk, looking fabulous in your new clothing/haircut/body modification. Somebody stops you and tells you how fabulous you look. And you say:
    “I know, right?”
    Then there’s that hilarious moment where they stand there with that deer-in-headlights look, because rarely does a person actually expect such a reaction from a compliment. But you were ready for it, because you know you look amazing.

    Or, say…you belting out some kareoke with your friends, pitch-perfect and hitting every note like you’re Beyonce. And someone turns to you and says:
    “You’re a really good singer!”
    And you say:
    “I know, right?”
    It’s those glorious little moments when you know you’re allowed to own up and be cocky. Because you’re really that AWESOME!

  40. When you’re watching a movie with a group of friends and you’re the only one who hasn’t seen it.
    First of all, if you’re watching this movie with your friends even though they’ve all seen it, you know it’s bound to be a solid flick. And everyone with you knows you haven’t seen it. Everyone has one eye on the TV screen and one eye on you as they’re watching to see your reactions, waiting for you to laugh or jump or scream. Your movie watching experience is a bazillion times better because everyone wants it to be!
    AWESOME!

  41. admiring your own awesome thoughts/things you said/things you did. they’re the best!

  43. Thinking you’ve figured out the ending of a novel, only to finish it and be completely blown away by something unexpected. As you approach the end and notice the rapidly diminishing number of pages left, you are slightly disappointed because you had high expectations for this book and can’t believe it was so obvious. Then you get to the end, and BAM! You were wrong! But it’s so much better than the ending you were dreading. You just have to sit there and think about it for a while. AWESOME.

  44. Pulling off a surprise party. You’ve been working really hard to do something great for someone you love, and you’ve gotten all the party games, party snacks and party people to the party location successfully. Everyone has been instructed to keep things quiet from the very beginning. You’re escorting the guest of honor to the surprise trap, or you’re waiting breathlessly crouched behind the couch in the dark as GoH’s keys jingle outside the door. GoH flips the light switch and everyone jumps out and yells at the top of their lungs–and here’s the crucial moment. Is GoH genuinely surprised? Did everyone keep those loose lips sealed tight? YES! The Guest of Honor is stunned and speechless, thrilled to death that you’ve gone to all this trouble, and the party commences with a bang. You pulled it off, in this day and age of constant communication about every mundane detail of everyone’s lives. AWESOME!

  45. Seeing your favorite band in concert.
    Going to a concert is awesome, even if it’s someone you’ve never heard of. And when you go to a concert to see someone you already know and like, well, that’s just even better. But when you go to see your FAVORITE band in concert…that’s an unbeatable thing. The anticipation mounts on the way there…is this real? Am I really going to get to see (insert band here)? It’s almost surreal. And regular concert moments are made even better: for example “The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band comes on stage (#917)” is always great, but when it’s your favorite band…that’s one of the most exciting experiences of your life. Or of course “The moment at a concert when the crowd figures out what song they’re playing (#706)” is made even better because when it’s your very favorite band, you figure out what song it is just a little bit before everyone else. It’s a magical experience to see your favorite band live, and it’s extra cool because it adds a human element to see the people you’ve listened to so much in real life. The imperfections in every live song are really perfections because…they’re actually doing it, and you are watching it happen before your eyes. Bonus points for being in the front row.
    And of course, when you are “#620 Singing in the car on the way home from the concert”, it finally sinks it…you actually just saw your favorite band in the world…in concert.
    AWESOME!

  46. When the local ice cream stand opens for the season. All winter long, you’ve been waiting. You’ve spent the whole week before the big day planning out what you’ll order for your first visit. And then it’s finally open! It may still be cold outside, but you know that spring is officially here. AWESOME.

    1. There was an ice cream shop down the road from my elementary school, and I remember driving past it on the bus every day. On opening day for the season, I’d see the doors open and the line out front as I passed by, and I got to bounce in my seat for the rest of the ride home knowing we would drive up after dinner that night. It was always such a special treat… the first great sign that summer was on its way!

  47. the sound of a purring cat!

    Not only is a calm soothing sound, but it lets you know that Mr. Fluffy is not about to hiss and slice you into pieces.

    Now thats awesome!

  48. Closing your eyes at a concert and letting the sounds of your favourite band wash over you. There are no thoughts, no to-dos, no worries, no hesitations…it’s just the music and the moment.

  49. Catching something with your ninja-like reflexes when you didn’t even realize it was falling. It’s almost like your mind has to play catch up because your body is just that…
    AWESOME.

  50. Snapping a photo of something that comes out PERFECT purely by chance. The light falls in the exact right way, the shadows form in the right place, the image just seems alive and all you did was press the button to shoot….AWESOME.

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