#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. The perfect night:

    1. The truly perfect night: everything goes right. All the lights turn green before you pull up to them, you have correct change, the shoes fit just right, the guy at the bar buys your drink, your favorite song comes on the radio so that you can jam out. All of the aspects of the night add up to the awesomest, most perfect night of your life.

    2. The decidedly perfect night: you ignore all the things that could ruin your night. So the argument didn’t end how you wanted it, the crush didn’t call back, So what? You’re going to have a great time, regardless. This night is the one that means the most, it means you’re stronger than whatever/whoever it was that tried to bring you down.
    The perfect night – it’s

    AWESOME!

  2. Running into your ex and looking way hotter than when you were together.

    Sweet vindication. Awesome.

  3. When your friends are so awesome you consider them the family you got to choose. My friends are this awesome and I am SO lucky.

  5. People in a small town waving at everyone – even the strangers just passing through.

  6. Forgetting you’ve signed up for the 1000 Awesome Things email and then receiving it the next day

  7. when you and your best friend look at each other and know what exactly each other are thinking and laugh :D

  8. hitting all green lights on the way to work when you’re running late. no stopping and waiting. score!

  9. Knowing A LOT of people want a free copy of your book from the >1000 comments on the post… awesome!

  11. when you’re driving and the sky in front of you looks exactly like the opening credits of “The Simpsons”.

    Noticing little things when you drive through perfect sunshiney happiness is always a perk. Things like when pedestrians happen to be walking to the beat of the song you are listening to while you’re stopped at a red light, when little kids smile at you, or when you try to chase down a friend just to wave “hi” for 2 seconds as you pass by them. It’s kind of like a secret for those who take the time to look.

  12. What I think is awesome, is when I realize that someone, like me, in Alaska has things in common with people in New York or even farther in England. Making this big world, seem smaller and more united.

  13. Anyone here own a pet?

    If so, you’re probably familiar with this one.

    When you’re sitting there minding your own business, doing homework, having dinner, checking facebook, commenting on a totally awesome website in hopes of winning count-down contest, what have you, and your dog, cat slowly nudges their face between your knees, looks at you with those huge oh-i’m-so-adorable-you-know-you-want-me eyes and…

    does the perfect headcock.

    It kills me softly whenever my dog does that. I hope you guys think it’s as…

    AWESOME

    as I do.

  14. The excitement of a child grasping a concept necessary to solve all remaining homework tasks.

  15. When your reminded how to dream.

    A small child (nephew, niece, granchild, etc) runs up to you with a weed clutched in their tiny hand. You look down and you see the proudest most excited kid in the world. “Look! a flower!” they’ll say and then hastily shove their hand at you. You’ll ask, “for me?” and they’ll smile and nod and you’ll know that in your hand is the most precious “flower” you’ve ever recieved, hands down. No bouqet can compare. You haven’t the heart to tell them it’s an ordinary weed…and really it isn’t. In their mind it’s a flower of the most beautiful sort, and I tend to agree with them.

    It takes you back to the days when life was what you dreamed it. When mermaids and monsters and magicians were real, when you could fly with a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, and when you wished on everything…stars, four leaf clovers, eyelashes, candles, and dandlions. The days when Dreaming wasn’t silly, and an ordinary weed was an extraordinary flower.

    Everytime a child laughs, a fairy is born and everytime a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

  16. Sunshine
    Well you might say of sourse this is awesome no one likes a rainy or even worse cloudy day but think about it. lying in the sun feeling it get just too hot on your skin. the red light under eyelids as you relax and sink into the ground or chair and every mscle in your body just relaxes and you know you won’t move for another few minutes, hours, days?
    OR maybe your reading a book and the sun hits it in just the right place. built in reading lamp.
    OR maybe you just like looking at how the whole world looks better, nicer, more at peace when it’s lit up to the nines.

    So whatever way you spend a sunny day soak up that Vitamin D and let out a sigh of Relief
    …Awesome!

  17. the crisp feeling of a new book – before all the highlighter marks, dents, scratches, and folds

  18. When someone refers to you as his/her friend for the first time.

    You get to be promoted from mere mortal to FRIEND.

    As awesome as it gets.

  20. When a stranger points out the toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

    You just finished taking a bathroom break and, having checked yourself out in the bathroom mirror while washing your hands, think you look pretty darn spiffy (if you do say so yourself). You step out of the loo, ready to take on the world. And then a stranger beckons, “Excuse me!” Maybe they need directions, or the time, or…… “You’ve got toilet paper stuck to your shoe.” Something else entirely. The kindness of a stranger has saved you from a social faux pas: a remnant of a ritual best left behind closed doors stuck to your sole for the world to see. And you know you’d do the same for them. AWESOME!!

  22. when you find a parking space that someone is just leaving from….don’t know if this has already been done before

  23. Just recently, my boyfriend and I celebrated our six month anniversary. (Ok, maybe for you older folks out there, it doesn’t seem like that much, but hey, high school years’ don’t last forever so might as well make the most of them.) Anyway, I had a horrible case of writers block while trying to write up an emotional card to express my feelings for my special person.
    In an act of desperation, I turned to previous birthday cards, past month anniversary letters, small pick-me-up notes, and such for inspiration when I happened upon this…

    He had written to me a letter a long time ago accompanied with 13 albums of the greatest Indie rock songs ever a while back. I had tucked it away in a box until that one day by coincidence or fate, I scrounged it up again. He wrote, and I quote (hey that rhymed), “You’ll probably finish listening to all of these albums by our 6-month anniversary. If we have one. Which we will.”

    And the funny thing is… WE DID.

    Now, I don’t know about you, but that made me feel pretty…

    AWESOME.

    Love is a beautiful thing. So make the most of it ;)

  27. hmm..not sure if this one is on the list yet, but im gonna go for it anyway :)

    Finding the perfect gift for your friend.

    Sometimes, present shopping is seriously tough. You want to find something nice and special for your friend, but the best your creative mind can come up with is a gift card to their favorite store.
    You search for what seems an eternity, and finally you spot it.
    Whether it’s a t-shirt suited perfectly for your friend, an accessory in their favorite color, or even something that you know will make them laugh, you buy it, give yourself a pat on the back, and await the excitement of giving the gift to your friend.

    AWESOME!

  28. Oh! How about when you set your ringtone as your favorite song so that when someone calls you, you can’t help but smile, sing or dance along, and forget to actually pick up the phone? :)

  29. Playing cards with a friend after a hard day of work.

    It dosen’t even matter if you win as long as you’re slammin the aces down everything feels better.

    AWESOME!

  30. Flopping down on your bed and muttering a word of rejoice into the pillow.
    certainly this is
    AWESOME!

  31. When you accidentally leave the heated blanket on all day, then when you go to bed it’s super toasty!

  32. Seeing your name used in a book, or another source as such.
    When you see it, you feel special, almost as if it’s written about you
    :)

  33. when you post something to facebook and several of your friends share your posts with their friends.

  34. I have a question: I posted like 4 ideas earlier and they aren’t on here anymore? Do some of the posts get deleted?

    1. Are you sure it’s gone, and hasn’t just been pushed to another page (as people reply to comments before yours?)

      No comments should be getting deleted. Post here again if you’ve really searched and can’t find yours!

  35. When friends on facebook use one of the pics I have taken of them as their profile picture.

  36. Reading your horoscope at the end of the day, and realizing it was totally right.

    It’s a strange, etherial sensation.

  37. Not everyone will be able to relate to this one…

    But I’d have to say an AMAZING thing would be the feeling of finally getting your braces removed and feeling your teeth for the first time in who knows how long……

    AMAZING.

  38. Being away on vacation for one month and coming back to read a whole month of 1000 Awesome Things in one sitting!

  40. When someone walks past you and their trail of scent smells really good.

    You know what I mean? Like the wind that passes by you when they pass.

    It’s even more awesome if they’re cute ;)

  42. when you get into that running groove, you know when you feel like your legs just automatically move without you telling them, as if they have a mind of their own. It almost feels like you’re not even actually running, just kinda following your feet. It’s pure bliss!

  47. Checking your cellphone the second before you get a text message or call. (AKA The sixth sense.)

  48. Foggy Mornings

    We all know how morning routines go. You’re up and running, preparing for the day as always, a mental checklist going to make sure you don’t forget anything from your socks to your keys. Everything is on autopilot, and you hardly notice your surroundings. But once you step outside and the cool air hits you full on, all of a sudden it’s a different story.

    Maybe you’re a runner, and in those foggy mornings all you can hear is the muffled sound of your falling footsteps in that enveloping cotton. Or maybe you’ve just sneaked out of your warm bed for a bathroom break before jumping back in, and what do you find outside? The world is still sleeping, covered in its own blanket.

    And it’s only in that small time before the sun zaps the fog away that you live in a little wonderland.

    AWESOME!

    1. YOU are awesome =)

      Nothing like a morning run in the fog or even snuggling in your warm cocoon watching the clouds roll by

  49. Leaving a bittersweet movie, instinctively sharing silence with your partner as you walk to the car, honoring the movie by extending the experience.

  50. When little kids prefer you to anyone else

    Whether it’s a younger cousin, niece or nephew, children you’re babysitting, or any other small child, that cheer when they notice your arrival says it all. You can do no wrong, and no one else can do the task at hand better than you. For those brief moments, you are the greatest, most perfect person in the world. Awesome.

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