#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”

  3. you know what’s 1000 awesome things times 10…?

    10,000 awesome things. cuz why stop at 1000?

  4. Finding money in your pocket you forgot was there. Who cares if it is your own money, your that much richer again!

    1. Good call…I love this noise. And it can’t really be confused with anything else. :) Whenever you hear it, you know someone in the area is going to enjoy something cool and carbonated.

  7. Using up all of the ink in a pen.

    How often do you lose pens? I lose my pens pretty often. I find myself buying a new pack of ten about once a month. Whether it’s leaving one at the restaurant after signing the bill, or forgetting you lent it to a friend, somehow, most pens don’t stay around for very long. That’s why it’s so special when you can keep one around long enough to actually use up all of the ink.

    Maybe it’ll be that special one that never gets lost(#807), or the one you keep on a string on the fridge, but once you run that pen out of ink, there’s nothing left to do but hold it up as your trophy. Because you have conquered that pen and its every attempt at escape. It’s now yours and all there’s left to do is admire it on your mantle.

    AWESOME!

    1. Gabe! You beat me to it.. I was all ready to go link to #807, but you’re too good.. You know this blog like the back of your hand.. or like an old pen that you don’t ever lose..

  8. Meeting someone who is familiar with your hometown.

    I grew up in a very very small, rural town and when I tell people where I am from it’s usually very quickly followed with “…you’ve probably never heard of it, it’s ok.” So it fills me with excitement when someone replies saying they know someone from there, have been there, or even just saw it on a map once.

    The same goes for being in a foreign country and meeting people who have visited your home city.

    It’s like a little taste of home. Awesome.

  9. #169 – the National Anthem

    Regardless of your level of patriotism, you can’t help but get chills. Be it the start of a baseball game, the end of a band concert, or your country’s team having just won the Olympic gold medal, it never fails to stir a strong emotion within every listener.

    Music has strong ties to memory, and evoking those memories is

    AWESOME!

  10. #185 – FLIRTING

    A wink, a smile, a subtle touch on the arm or a blatant compliment; there are many styles to flirting, but it all comes down to the same thing: Someone thinks you’re attractive, and wants to pay you some attention. Both of these things are categorically

    AWESOME!

  11. Figuring you Public Transportation.

    Because you’ll never miss that connecting train again.

    Awesome.

  12. Starting a new book and KNOWING you’re in for a great ride!

    Like a first date, we all step in with a little bit of hesitancy. And then there’s that moment where you go “Whoa, boy! This is gonna be somethin’ else!” As you think that, you notice a big, [bleep]-eating grin come across your face. The early parts of the book then turn out to be great and then your intution is paid off when the rest is too.

  13. That look you give a stranger when both of you see something amusing.

    It’s my favorite look ever. You’ve never talked to them before, you probably will never talk again, but for one brief moment you’re connected over witnessing someone in an absurd outfit, or a person unknowingly singing loudly to himself over his headphones. You glance around, wondering if anyone else actually saw what you just saw, and you make eye contact with the woman sitting across the train wearing the same grin on her face as you are. Bam.

    Awesome.

    2. sista. i almost wrote this same thing! i was on the subway this weekend and watched a woman fall hard asleep. slowly but surely she lost muscle control and leaned closer and closer to the shoulder of another woman sitting next to her. then impact. the sleeping woman bolted wake. the awkward “im going to try and not notice” woman nose deep in her book re-adjusted, trying not to make a scene. a man an i saw the whole thing go down… made momentary eye contact and couldn’t hold back the laughter.
      awesome for sure!

  14. When someone famous sends you a personal message – whether it’s an email or on twitter or facebook, you sent them a message not expecting them to be obligated to reply, but they did! It’s like being in the world’s tiniest spotlight for just a moment and it’s awesome.

  15. p.s. Freddo, thanks for keeping an eye on all these comments. i hope Neil is rewarding your work with your own free copy of “The Book of AWESOME”…or a pie…or something similarly spectacular.

    1. Yeah! PIE!! Great idea, Mandy.. Are you listening to this, Neil?

      Mandy – loved all your posts.. just finished reading through all of them.. thanks again for sharing!

      1. I’m glad you liked them! Writing them (and reading other people’s awesome things) helped me through an otherwise tedious day of work. I don’t think I’ll put “Data entry” on my List of Awesome.

        And I’ll definitely keep submitting…but I think I did enough for this week. :)

        1. I think alot of people enjoyed them very much, Mandy :) Including myself.

          I don’t know about you, but this whole website is such a great pick me up during these ridiculously stressful weekdays.

          Keep it up! It’s quite awesome.

  16. #191 – An orchestra tuning

    It starts with the oboe giving the concert pitch. Then, the strings vibrate their open fifths and fourths. The brass and woodwinds come in next with their runs and trills. Everyone is tweaking, making sure every note is perfectly lined up in order to give you, listener, the most beautifully harmonic concert possible.

    The simple sound of this orchestra is an indication of great things to come. Don’t be surprised if every hair on your body stands up as you anticipate a performance of

    AWESOME!

  18. #190 – Passing notes in class

    You’re nodding off during math as the teacher drones on and on and on…just as you go to check the clock for the sixtieth time in the last five minutes, the person sitting in front of you drops a folded-up piece of paper on your desk.

    Pretending to be paying attention to the teacher (for the first time this class, which must look more suspicious to the teacher than if you had kept gazing blankly at your desk), you slide the note into your lap and carefully untuck the corners.

    After you read the note, make sure to write back, fold it up (hot dog, hot dog, triangle, triangle, triangle, and tuck) and send it back to your friend via the Secret Classroom Pony Express.

    AWESOME!

    http://www.wikihow.com/Fold-Paper-Into-a-Secret-Note-Square

  20. #194 – Skydiving

    There’s nothing quite like the sweet surrender of hurling yourself out of a plane and feeling the wind scream past your face as you plummet at the rate of 120 mph (53 m/s). Then the swift jerk of the parachute catching and slowing you down (you breathe a silent prayer of thanks that it worked), and you’re able to steer yourself into and out of warm, damp clouds. (Just like in Aladdin!)

    Learn how to land, and you’re the King of the Sky.

    AWESOME!

  21. I have 400+ of these, but as I’m sure people are getting annoyed with how much I’m writing, I’ll stop now. :)

    1. Mandy – Neil will be running this contest again for the next few Mondays.. be sure to come back and post more of them there! They are awesome!

  23. I think this site is AWESOME. When finances are getting me down or the kids are screaming and I need to get away from all of it, I can look at this site and the weight of the world is lifted off. That, my friend, is awesome. :)

  25. The months up to your vacation is awesome. You’re walking around knowing; “Hey, I’m going to france or something when I get off work!” AWESOME

  26. Believing you failed a test, then finding out later that you aced it =]

    Or maybe totally BSing a paper and getting a good grade on it.

    Those are both such great feelings!

  27. That tiny little smiley face in the top right corner of the page on this blog.

    There’s nothing like an extra little surprise when you come to read about awesome things. It just puts a smile on my face, especially when the first time I saw it.

  28. Finally getting that piece of food out from between your teeth!!!

    Especially corn on the cob & popcorn…

    A-MA-ZING!!!

  29. This thread is amazing and I can’t stop smiling!

    I got one: it’s so awesome when you’re sharing a story with your friends that you know you’ve probably told way too many times and they still pretend like it’s the first time they’ve heard it. And even manage to make you feel exhilarated all over again by that retelling.

    Like today, I had an amazing girly day with my best friend, and I must’ve rehashed every minute detail of this encounter I had with my new crush a million times..but a crush is a crush and these things seems to get better with every retelling, right? Well that’s when your best friend does that awesome thing where she pretends that this incessant quoting of this one 10 minute conversation with some dude is the best thing she has ever heard in her life. She even encouraged me to continue with my story, helped me analyse every detail, and generally made me feel as if it were the first time she’d ever heard it. You gotta love that kind of dedication! Awesome!

  30. Speaking of which, I have another one (related to my earlier post).

    Having the first real conversation with the person you have a crush on. Or more specifically, that goofy giddy smile you can’t get off your face afterwards. You’re just walking around with this secret awesome feeling and nobody really knows it but you. Well that is, until you tell your friends and can let that goofy smile just take you over completely!

    I’m smiling right now :)

  31. The thing that is the most awesome for me is when you realize that there’s testing in school taht you don’t have to do, so you get to sleep in.

    It’s like the equivalent of a snow day or a two hour delay, but in the springtime.

    That’s the most awesome thing.

  32. When someone lets you out. You know after a long day of work, its finally time to go home… you get in the car, ready to drive off – but wait, there is that one busy street that it takes forever to turn onto… until one kind stranger decides to let you out! I always hope they know how much I appreciate it by giving them a big thank-you wave. Now its time get home! AWESOME!!

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  34. I know this really has a snowball’s chance of being seen, but, here goes:

    When the waiter/waitress refills your glass without being asked to.

      1. i LOVE this one! and especially when they refill it JUST as you notice it’s a little low…

  35. Standing up straight after hunching over something for a long time.

    For me, nothing beats that feeling after straining my back in the darkroom and the chemicals…finally unbending, cracking my back, and making loud noises of contentment!

  36. An awesome thing to me? Waking up in the middle of the night (kid crying, need to pee, bad dream, whatever the reason) and realizing you have a few more hours to sleep. Ah bliss!

  37. motion sensored things. we live in a world like something out of 2001: a space odyssey, what with automated toilets flushing, doors sliding open, paper towels rolling out on a whim and the perfect touchless handwashing. lets be real: it makes you feel like you have the force. and when the motion-sensored bathroom/handwashing experience includes self-dispensing foaming handsoap? there’s nothing better. AWESOME.

  38. Rolling down a grassy hill years after doing it as a kid

    Brings back so many memories, and it really is incredibly fun :)

  39. Finally reaching the exit of a haunted house maze

    You have survived zombies, serial killers and evil clowns all within a span of three to five minutes. Awesome!

  40. letting go of a super strong hate against someone

    the person who hurts most is myself
    and people around me are affected as well

    it’s so relieving to just let it go

  41. Patio Season Opener. Its the most awesome holiday of the year. Its the first, really nice warm day that demands you drink beer outside with your friends. You start texting everyone, and they start texting everyone, and the next thing you know there’s a party of good friends outside, soaking up vitamin d, drinkin’ beers! Sure, you might have to put a jacket on when the sun goes down but still, awesome!

  42. I LOVE jigsaw puzzles! The most awesome thing in the world is when you realize that two giant chunks of puzzle pieces come together perfectly.

  43. nothing is more satisfying than finishing a really long book you’ve been working on forever!

  44. Imagine you wake up on a Saturday morning and realise there is no milk. “Well, I might just go to the supermarket around the corner and buy some” you think to yourself. But then at the supermarket you suddenly remember loads of other stuff you need. Potatoes, onions, rice, fish, shampoo, toilet paper – the list is endless. When you finally leave the supermarket, the bags are totally packed and super heavy. Courageously you hit the trail, but soon you notice that walking became harder and your house seems to have moved miles away. You start sweating and struggling with your bags and legs. In these moments of sheer desperation, you hear someone’s voice: “Do you need some help”? Slowly you look up, right into the eyes of a complete sranger. From now on, you carry the burden together. A few nice words, a friendly smile on the lips, a “thank you” and “goodbye” and your morning is saved.
    Strangers who help you, even if it’s just a small favour, that’s one of the most awesome things ever!

  45. cracking your knuckles. Don’t worry about what others say about arthritisor any sill thing like that, just that amazing feeling of releif

  46. When you pick up your phone *right* as it vibrates with a new message.
    I always feel psycic when I’m sitting around, and as soon as I go to check the time on my phone, or just move it somewhere else, and a MESSAGE suddenly appears.

  47. the first bite of a really unhealthy treat. you may be splurging on that diet, at a elebration of some kind, or just want to taste that sugary goodness. You can see the horizon of frosting and sugar awaiting to be eaten. With the taste in your mouth, you can visualize several more very successful tastes of tastiness in the very near future. YUM!

  48. When you finish your homework/work.

    After procrastinating for hours on end… you finally finish up that essay, or that AP Calculus homework that has been collecting dust.

    The feeling of actually finishing my homework… it’s pretty damn awesome.

    :]

    2. couldn’t agree with you more. i usually just slam my book closed, lean all the way back in my chair, then go and collapse on my bed and stare at the ceiling for a couple seconds. it’s a euphoric sense of AWESOME.

  49. That one little patch of snow that is still there even after the rest has melted.

  50. Telepathic iPod! I love it when it’s on shuffle and there’s a succession of awesome songs.

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