#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”

  1. Random dancing. Can be when you’re brushing your teeth, putting on your shoes, waiting on line, whenever – suddenly you just HAVE to bob your head and move.

    1. This is the story of my life. xD I just love to dance. Randomly. It gives me an outlet to just let loose and be creative. Hehe.

  2. Oh, and when you build up this huge fear of taking a test and that fear goes away. Sometimes this is during the test when you realise that it isn’t nearly as hard as you thought, and sometimes it isn’t until the test is over. Either way, it feels like the weight of the world has been taken off of your shoulders – and dumped on the teacher’s who has to grade it.

  3. When you impulsively decide to bake or cook something, and you already have every single ingredient. :-)

  4. Eating breakfast when it’s not breakfast time…

    because, c’mon, when isn’t cereal and french toast the best?

  5. When you’re on a Winter road trip and you can take your coat off in the car with the heater running.

    After getting used to wearing heavy jackets and long thermal underwear, it’s nice to lift the weight off of your shoulders and still be completely warm in the comfort of the car. Not to mention, being able to see the Winter Wonderland scenery and not feel like an icicle. Awesome. :)

  6. My Awesome Thing: Little Inklings of Hope
    I find it awesome that even when there are 1055 comments on this single post, I still have that little inkling, that little “what if” floating in my brain that my one little comment could win.

    2. I just like the word inkling.

      Like a creature made out of ink.

      I used that word in a sentence once and all my friends wouldn’t believe it was a real word. I convinced them it actually did mean a creature made out of ink.

  7. Pancakes.

    Because who doesn’t love light, fluffy buttery cakes of goodness topped with real Berkshire maple syrup?

    1. My Uncle Dave made the best pancakes ever! ^_^ Such a great part of my childhood. DEFINITELY

      AWESOME!

  8. Looking at pictures of your parents when they were your age.

    Because they were awesome.

  9. Sidestepping something really nasty on the sidewalk without realizing it until you were past it….
    or just barely missing that glob of bird poop falling from the heavens and seeing it fall right in front of your body.

  10. When the weatherman says there’s going to be a huge storm, and it turns out to be beautiful weather.

    Living in New York, we anticipate lots of snow. So when we hear that we are expecting a snow storm that’ll bring in 6-12 inches, everyone mood gets shot down. The night before you’re laying in bed just wondering how bad it will be the next morning shoveling the 8 inches off your car in the below zero weather. But then, you wake up; look out your window: The sun is shining bright, the temperatures are way above average and the rest of the day turns out so much better than you expected. So thank you weatherman, for making a simple mistake, because you just made my day…
    AWESOME.

  13. My most favorite awesome thing?

    -Mom’s purse.

    Because when you were little, it was a treasure trove of everything you might need within a moments notice- bandaids, pretzels, tissues, juiceboxes, crayons, gum.
    You could survive on a desert isle for 3 years if you had your mom’s purse. I would bet money on it.

    1. ahh that’s so true!
      Mom’s purse always had everything you could ever want or need!

    1. I live in at a high altitude, so it’s always fun to pop the seal especially since everything usually explodes a little. The best seal is on marshmallow fluff, you can only ever get about half of the seal off and it expands until about 1/8th of it is already out of the jar. It’s so much fun to watch.

  15. Ice cream.
    Warm night, sunny afternoon, watching a movie, ice cream is the perfect complimenting treat.
    Awesome.

  16. When a song’s lyrics fit your situation perfectly.

    A song you’ve probably listened to before but never given much thought to — or perhaps a song you just now have heard — sings straight to your heart, and you know it’ll be okay, because someone else has been through the same thing.

  17. Being able to see snow even though you’re dressed in summer clothes.

    After a long cold winter the sun finally came back and the temperature hit a whopping 60 degrees! I had worn a sweatshirt and tank top to school that day but when I got out of school that day you better believed I was sporting just the tank top!
    When I got home later that day I took my lap top out on the back porch to enjoy the great weather. I was reading 1000awesomethings.com when I looked to my left and saw a huge pile of snow. It was only then that I realized that wearing summer clothes and watching the winter melt away can only be summed up in one word,
    AWESOME!

  18. Pulling an all-nighter and watching the sun come up is an awesome sight, especially in Summer, where it then becomes just beautiful, with the orange sunlight shining on your windows and reflecting off of the walls.

  19. When you have to travel out of town for the weekend and work days that surpass 14 hours, it’s nice to come home to your husband who has cleaned the house and also bought a new TV for the bedroom.

    AWESOME!

    1. I hope you’re talking about the band, in which case, Awesome!

      If you’re talking about physically smashing other people’s pumpkins at halloween? You’re a jerk!

      I assume jerks don’t read this blog, so… Awesome!

    1. Not to mention the one friend who always impersonates the sound afterward.

      *ssshkk* *fffffftttttt*

  25. Zooming past bad traffic on your bicycle. You just feel like a winner. You can’t even help it. Not only are you saving money on gas, saving the ozone layer, you are saving time. You are the winner.

    Awesome.

  26. When you say something slightly funny in front of a group, and they laugh really loud because they think it’s even funnier than you did. And you think, “What an easy crowd!” AWESOME!

  27. When you type something funny or cute in your status update on Facebook, and you get a ton of comments about it.

  28. Walking into your new hotel room for the first time and belly flopping right on the first bed you see is

    AWESOME!

  31. When you have in your hands a bulky stack of notes you’ve just printed out or copied…and the papers are still warm in your hands. ;)

  32. When you look up after climbing the last step from the underground subway you took to a new part of the city…Looking up at the unfamiliar buildings and trees around you and trying to orient yourself to where your destination will be…awesome!

  33. For all of you artists out there…

    When you finally finish that project you worked so hard on. Whether it be a drawing, painting, piece of music, sculpture, knitted/crocheted, origami-folded, or other hand-crafted piece of goodness, it’s always nice to step back after you finish and enjoy it!

    Not to mention how AWESOME it is to gift your work to someone who deserves it!

    1. Yes! I know that feeling. I love making projects, from posters to knitting, but most of all, I love giving them to friends and family and knowing they have a small piece of you.

  34. The first day of the year when its finally warm enough to wear your strappy sandals, shorts, and your sunglasses, and you leave your jacket at home. The warm air passing through your hair and bare arms and legs…awesome!

  36. When your Favorite football team comes back and wins with 30 seconds on the clock!

    1. Being a Charger fan, I don’t get this enough – too often we’ve been on the losing end of that the past few seasons.. though this year against the Giants in NY? AWESOME!

  37. New school supplies. Hands down the most exciting thing that could happen when your about to submit yourself to a whole year of pain.
    The smell of notebook paper and pencils, and especially the colorful new pens and highlighters. By the end of the year they’ll be broken and lost, torn and worn, but for now, drink it up. They’re awesome.

  38. Buying a novelty calendar purely for the images and never actually using it. Because hey, those squares are far too tiny to encapsulate your life!
    Case and point: The Office calendar currently tacked to my wall, which has a pitiful amount of calendar space, but ample images and quotes.
    AWESOME!

  39. spring break – i love the beach and warm weather but am at school in a place that is the opposite (always grey, rainy, and cold) so spring break was awesome. to be able to completely relax and not have to worry about doing anything.

    also the feeling of when you are laying in the sun and its not to hot yet so you arent sweating, but it has warmed you up just right where it feels like the sun is tingling its warmth all over – that is an awesome feeling.

  40. The crinkle of library book covers

    The sound of the plastic library book covers as you open the book and turn the pages? Takes me back to childhood, endless possibilities, the many worlds beneath the book covers, favorite stories, the quiet peace of a library… AWESOME!

  41. The rare instance when you get everything done that you need to during the commercial breaks.

    It happens everytime. You finally sit down for your show that you have been waiting for all week. And as soon as your cheeks hit the seat you realize just how perfect a bowl of popcorn would be at that moment. You forgot your phone upstairs. The laundry just finished and needs to go into the dryer.

    So as soon as that commercial break hits, the clock starts. You only have 2, maybe three commercials to do the laundry, retrieve your phone, feed the dog, get a soda from the fridge, and get back to the couch and comfortable again.

    The rare moments when you are able to get everything done, with time to spare, dodging the kids’ homework projects or deciding that the plants don’t need to be watered until tomorrow, are nothing short of AWESOME!

  42. Singing the alphabet while snapping off the tab of your soda can. It may not be very accurate, but it is entertaining to see what letter the name of your future lover will start with.

  43. finishing up all your work and having a clean slate with no stresses for tomorrow :)

  44. Dipping your toes in the pool for the first time.

    Its been a long, cold winter. But gradually the temperature began to rise and now, it is just hot enough to hit the pool. Or the Lake. Or the Ocean.

    Your first few steps into the water are nerve-racking, and you just KNOW its going to be cold. But in those first few bitterly freezing moments, all of your winter blues melt away.

    Its the summer!! Maybe you’ll even be daring enough to break out the cannon ball…

    AWESOME!

  45. Coming home after you’ve been gone for a long time. Why is it so awesome?

    1.) Your own bed. The novelty of a hotel room wears off quickly, and even the most hopitable of friends and family members can’t recreate the body-crater you’ve spent years forming in your matress.

    2.) Your own shower. Full size shampoo bottles, left over pictures drawn into the mirror, the reassuring knowledge of all the feet that have stepped in it before you.

    3.) Your own “house smell”. Every house has a distinct smell: some combo of laundry detergent, candles and cologne that is unique as a fingerprint. You may not know what your house’s smell is, or if you do, you NEVER get to appreciate it. Except of course, when you first open the front door after a long time gone.

    Welcome home! Awesome.

    (EDIT: CONGRATULATIONS! This comment was selected as the random winner. – Neil)

  46. Trampoline Days…

    My children and I love it when the first days of spring arrive with sun and nice weather. All it takes is for one of us to comment on how nice the weather is and all at once we will all say, “Nap on the trampoline day!” We hurry home from school and just throw everything down to run outside. Funny how we never manage to take the nap, but we do get to talk while we lay on the warm trampoline staring at the sky. The best Trampoline Days are the ones where the weather is nice unexpectedly!

  47. Have you ever left like half a bottle of pop in the car overnight and when you get back into the car in the morning, it’s sorta frozen, but not solid and it basically ends up being this perfect, flaky, shaved ice-esque slushy? THAT IS AWESOME.

  49. (from my boyfriend)

    When you are facing the prospect of re-wearing your underwear because you’ve put off laundry for a while, and you discover a clean pair of underwear hidden beneath piles of clothes in your closet!

  50. #549?

    When the snow on your front lawn begins to melt.

    Hey, it’s been a long winter, and we could all use the reminder that spring is on its way. Sure, the lawn’s a little spotty from where Sparky relieved himself. But it’s too early to worry about the lawn, and –hopefully– the time for snow shovelling has past. AWESOME!!

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