#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. Ice Cold Water.
    After running around outside in the sun, pouring yourself an ice cold glass of water is the perfect icing on the cake.

  3. Making a really terrible joke that your friends say only you find funny until the eavesdropper behind them starts laughing too.

    AWESOME.

  4. Having a towel fresh from the drying waiting for you when you get out of the shower/bath.

  5. you know what i think is awesome? waking up to find a note written on the mirror by your roommate or that special someone. either written from the steam of their shower, from her lipstick, or a little note written on a scrap of paper stuck to the door telling you that you’re AWESOME, to keep your chin up today at work, or that they think you are truly wonderful. that is AWESOME!!!

  6. you know what else i think is awesome? when you type something wrong in Word, and the computer corrects it for you! you finish your paper last minute before class, and you remember that you must have spelled “incongruous” or “insatiable” wrong, but spell check was just nice enough to auto-correct it for you, saving you time and getting you to the printer faster. AWESOME!

  7. When a song starts to play that reminds you of a really awesome song, then you realize it IS that song!

  8. Rediscovering a movie from your childhood.

    You can always enjoy a movie as a kid, but what happens when you pop in those same movies when you’re (at least in my case) 20 years old?
    Movies like The Sandlot, the Mighty Ducks trilogy, Free Willy, Toy Story and countless other timeless classics all take on new meaning and find a new and special place in your heart.
    And you can pick up on some of the funnier lines you may have been unable to appreciate as a child.
    When you give these movies another chance a couple years down the line, you rediscover why they were so awesome. And what’s better than noticing how awesome something is?!
    AWESOME!

  9. standing in the middle of the road late at night/early in the morning cause you know very few people are awake with you outside

  10. When you’re walking up to an intersection just as the walking man turns green and you get to cross without stopping.
    Especially when you’re in a rush and you just get to keep walking. Plus because you’ve already got walking momentum you over-take all the people that had been waiting there. It sort of feels like the walking light turned green just for you, pretty cool.

  11. Inside Jokes are AWESOME!
    My sister and I have one where everytime a hot guy goes by, we say to each other “Hey Jimmy!” just like on the show What About Brian. No one has a clue what we mean but it is Awesome! Oh and if he is super hot he gets a “Hey Jimmy, Jimmy!”

  13. Looking at license plates at Disneyland, and seeing how many people came from all over the world.

  14. -Knowing what song is playing just from the first three seconds it’s on the radio.

    -Leaving a waiter a bigger tip than 20%.

    -Drinking water from a garden hose.

    -Trying to get the lifeguard wet at the diving board.

    -staying up later than you need.

    -Watching a movie knowing you’re going to fall asleep.

    -When your shoes are laced where you can just slip your feet in perfectly

    -Remembering childhood handclapping games

    -When a cop sees you driving over the speed limit and doesn’t pull you over

    -Sneaking food into the movie theater

    -Working out for the first time in months and being sore.

    -Traveling on a budget

    -Finishing a crossword puzzle

    -Getting two scoops of ice-scream instead of one.

  15. Being crazy in public with your friends and not caring that people think your weird.

    Be it singing a cheesy off-key duet on the bus, an air band at work or an assisted backspin at a party. You and your mates are having fun and that’s what matters.

    AWESOME!

  16. Déjà vu. Even if it’s just for a few seconds thinking to yourself “Hey, I think I’ve been here before or done this exact same thing before”. It’s almost creepy at times, feeling like you’ve been sucked into the space time continuum. But then you get to say “I had Déjà vu today!”. Awesome.

  17. Discovering that you have been singing the wrong lyrics to a favorite song for years and deciding that you like your madeup ones better. ♫”I’m being swallowed by a moon-shadow, moon-shadow moon-shadow.♪

  18. Finishing a good book.

    It’s a great feeling when you come to the end of a really good book, read that last sentence, and close the book in a self-satisfying act of closure.

  20. One of the most awesome things for me is having the remote. It seems to be a constant battle in my house. Hubby has it most of the time, but when he gets up from the couch for a few mins…I grab the remote and its all mine.

  21. Another awsome thing is, of course, free stuff! Winning things of the radio, being the ‘chosen one’ in a contest, buy one get one free…the list goes on.

  22. Ducks in unexpected places.
    Trying to get into bars, outside the library…are these ducks lost or on a mission? Either way, they make my day a little more AWESOME!

  24. Sitting in your bra/underwear.

    After a long day, you strip your clothes off of the day of stress. It’s time to be alone (or with someone special), unwind and enjoy the fact you can not go out at this monoment.
    Or before a long day, sitting planning your day, relaxing before you take the day on.

    Awesome.

  26. When you realize you’re the first one in at work and you can basically do nothing and bum around until no someone shows up. It can be an hour or so or even just 5 minutes of freedom.

    AWESOME.

  29. Having the exact amount of little money to buy a coffee in your favourite coffee-shop. Good morning!

  31. At this time there are 1343 comments – a new record by a long shot! Amazing what people will do for a free book. Seriously though, there are some really good awesome things posted here. (I was going to say awesome awesome things, but I thought that might be a bit redundant.)

  32. The toilet-paper stash.

    When you’re in such a hurry to get your pants down that you only notice afterwards that there is no more paper on the roll. You look around in a panic and if life is being awesome, you will spot a toilet paper stash. Sometimes it’s stacked on a wooden TP totem pole in the corner, other times hidden in a cupboard that you open out of desperation. The sneakiest stash is the one they hang on the wall, usually made out of fabric so ugly, your mind blocks it out on purpose.

  33. Going to hang out on the back porch in the morning to drink a cup of coffee and realizing there are deer watching me get settled and they have decided to stay anyway. AWESOME!

  34. Wow, this is such an adorable idea! I’m pumped! :)

    Something I find awesome…
    that time when your older sibling acknowledges you at an important moment (ex. being picked for sports).

  37. Hearing someone’s smile through the phone —

    A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. Everyone smiles in the same language. Smiles are rarely a bad thing and as cheesy as it sounds, sometimes one smile can really be the difference between a good day and a bad one. Smiles rock. They tell you at least someone is having a good day; at least someone is happy to see you; at least someone’s having fun. But there is just something so awesome about hearing someone’s smile through their voice over the phone. There is just something so awesome about knowing that particular smile wasn’t restricted visually and was sweet enough to travel through phone lines. And, for a split second, you’re enveloped in this smile. Now, really, what can’t smiles do?

  39. You know that moment when your body lets you know you are right where you are supposed to be because the hair on the back of your neck stands up and it feels like bells and whistles are going off inside you. Awesome

  40. That brief moment, only a fraction of a second long, when you look at your child’s face and get a glimpse of what they’ll look like as an adult. I think that God only gives you that tiny moment so you’ll zoom back into the present and not miss the important time, the now.

  41. When your husband fixes a surprise date for you :)

    (I just got a call from my husband, for a surprise ‘movie date’ tonight. This makes me feel so..Awesome!)

  42. Opening you front door with your winter jacket on, only to discover that you don’t need it!

    Spring has sprung… and after any winter (even if here in Ottawa it was the stortest on record and we had the least amount of snow – now when have we EVER been able to brag about that!??!!!) it is something worth celebrating! With images of drinks of a patio, cottage parties and barefoot looming… you can’t help but feel good. Spring can put anyone and everyone in a good mood. So put on your smile today and enjoy the sun because one thing I know for sure… Spring has arrived!!!!

  43. #549 should be: The bedhead baby.. you know, the one that has shown up like 5 times? yeah, he totally deserves his own number!

  44. when it starts to rain very thin at the time you will fall asleep, making that nice little noise of rain.

    That’s awesome!!

  46. When you’re off and you go to the movies in the afternoon and be filled with so much popcorn watching a silly movie.

  47. When you arrive for lunch at yours grandmother’s home and have your favorite dish that only she knows how do make it.

  48. When you finally see your name on the approved list of the univewrsity that you studied hard all year long to pass in.

    AWESOME!!

  49. When you accidentally find a video of a trip you did a long time ago and watch this to remind how fun was that.

  50. #549 Opening your windows.

    You know the feeling. The first day of nice weather, where it’s warm enough to open that window, but still cool enough to not need the air conditioner.

    The beauty is that there are 2 functions of opened windows. One is you get to experience the outdoors, well indoors. Here the birds, the kids laughing down the street, and maybe even a few cars driving by.

    The gentle breeze blowing through cooling you down, while you do some house work. But once you are free from the chains of labor that keep you in. You turn on the stereo, crank up the volume and go outside.

    This is where the windows serve as a portal to allow the soundwaves of your favorite musician to escape out into the world. Doing yardwork, reading a book, sunbathing, or playing fetch with old spot. The music makes everthing better. all due to OPEN WINDOWS!!

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