#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. When you’re on a date and the guy takes your hand for the first time…and you like it.

    1. When you’re on a date and the guy takes your hand for the first time…and its AWESOME?

  2. Web comics!

    Finishing your taxes early

    Puns

    Someone who says exactly the right thing that makes everything feel better.

    Giving flowers to someone

    thoughtful mixed CDs

    freshly painted lines in a parking lot

    pi day

    reliving first dates

  3. Imagining electrons and all kinds of subatomic particles without being affected by gravity.

  4. Lush Carpet in the morning
    Waking up on a cold, dark morning is never fun, you’re snuggled into a thick nest of blankets and pillows. So, when you finally work up the courage to swing those un-socked tootsies from under their fortress of warmth into the cold clutches of morning air, there’s nothing like sinking them into the carpet. Nothing beats twisted tufts of synthetic fibre squishing between your toes on a cold morning
    AWESOME!

  6. (As a person older than the age of consent) getting your braces off and making out for the first time.

    Nothing bumping the other person’s teeth, nothing to try to protect with your lips, no worries that you’ve got a mouth full of rice after eating sushi. Just lips, a few teeth taps, and some tongue is you’re lucky. It’s like being 16 all over again.

      1. I didn’t want to just say making out when you get your braces off because maybe you have 12-year-old readers and they’ve got no bizness making out.

        1. Yikes! Don’t tell that to my 12 yr. old version of myself. He’ll be crushed! :)

          And they’re not my readers… (unfortunately). They’re Neil’s. And he keeps ’em coming back for more AWESOME!

  7. learning a new skill.

    whether you’re changing the oil in your car, hemming your own pants, taking a pottery class, building a computer or playing a new sport for the first time, learning new things reminds you of a time when you were little and everything was new and exciting. and when you master that craft that makes you slightly more knowledgeable, more self-sufficient or just a little cooler, the feeling is

    AWESOME.

  9. Sticking Gummy Bears to Windows.

    I go to school in Emmitsburg, which is basically the middle of no where. (hooray..)

    One day, my friend and I had run out of things to do and were sitting in front of the school store eatting gummy bears trying to pass some time.

    At first, we were just sticking the gummy bears to eachother, since gummy bears tend to get very sticky when you lick them, but after a while we started sticking them to the arms of the couch we were sitting on, the trashcans around us, and eventually, on the windows around our school.

    We thought it was awesome.

  11. Spring Break
    Walking out of the last final exam knowing you have a relaxing week with absolutely nothing to do lying ahead of you. All of the hard work put into the cold Winter Quarter is over and the weather change is an indescribable feeling.
    AWESOME!

  12. Chairs With Wheels
    (aKa Wheely Chairs)

    For when you don’t feel like walking from one end of your office to the other, one end of your classroom to the other, or one end of your house to the other.

    They are also very amusing.
    At my school, there are two gyms.
    The new gym and the old soup can looking gym.
    The older gym is full of old televisions, dorm furniture, tables, cabnets, musical instruments, costumes, and chairs. Many of these chairs being computer chairs..with wheels!

    One night, my boyfriend and I were looking through this lot of antiques and came across a few of these chairs, along with a couple of folding chairs. After wheeling around the gym for quite a while, we decided to set up the folding chairs and go chair bowling! It was AWESOME fun.

  14. Toaster Ovens.

    For when you can’t seem to fit an actual oven and a toaster in your living space.

    Also great for making grilled cheese sandwiches without a pan.

  15. Unblocking your ear

    You know when your ear is blocked up and your face feels half turned off and you can’t hear right. You try different methods to unblock – yawning, tilting the head, opening your mouth, etc. – then all of a sudden from nowhere the ear becomes unblocked and everything sounds well, louder!
    Awesome!

    1. I hit submit before I could expand….

      but when you’re going to get fries (usually in a cafeteria of some sort) and you see that there are no more left. you start thinking of what else you’re going to have to eat when all of a sudden, the cook picks up that metal fryer and dumps a whole new batch. and you are the first person to get some of those hot tasty french fries….awesome

  18. When they have the salad dressing you like at the salad bar…

    you get to the end of the salad bar, after having constructed your perfect salad, and there are a million unlabeled options for dressing: a few are white, maybe an orange, and there’s always oil and vinegar. so you pick up a ladle and pour it on, hoping its the one you like. then you go to sit down, take that first leafy mouthful, and find out that it is actually ranch instead of blue cheese….awesome.

  19. Making jewelry out of dandelions and clover flowers! Necklaces, bracelets, crowns, and if you’re talented enough, maybe a ring! Forget that they’re weeds for a moment and see the beauty in having a little fun while decorating yourself with pretty flowers!

  21. When something you already own is featured in a magazine.

    When that hair product you’ve always used or that tshirt you bought a month ago is in a magazine, you can’t help but get a big smug smile, thinking, hey, I had this before it was popular.

    AWESOME!

  22. Losing weight without trying. When you step on the scale and realize that you’ve lost three pounds that
    you didn’t have to fight with.

  23. Losing weight without trying. When you step on the scale and realize that you’ve lost three pounds that you didn’t have to fight with.

  26. Alright! I must get a second original idea in here, and I’m determined to try!

    Warm Donuts!

    A treat that, while enjoyable at room temperature, seems to contain more personality and joy when eaten fresh.

    The glaze is soft and the bread is bouncy, ready and waiting to be given the consumer’s undivided attention.

    Those magical moments are just AWESOME!

  31. Smiling is the awesome thing in the entire world.
    Whoever you are smiling at,however you feel,smiling at people and especially getting a smile back is the best thing ever!Plus it’s a whole aerobics program,12 muscles are used in the process!
    So let’s just keep on smiling…

  39. The Microwave Informing You That Your Food Is Cooked!

    Ah, Yes! That sweet victory of counting down the seconds until your meal heated by radio active waves.

    No, let’s face it- your meal wasn’t so much as what your grandmother would consider edible, but seriously, who can resist the processed frozen goodness of a cheesy Hot Pocket, or those little pocket of pepperoni filled heaven known as Pizza Rolls.

    Its just that more satifying when the seconds on the clock beep away like a count down to Space. The excitement is killing you as you watch the delectable pot pie spin round and round, ruining your eye sight and striking you dizzy.

    But you don’t care, becasue-DING!- your food is ready and those bright green words flash across the screen: ENJOY YOUR MEAL! You find yourself giddy at the prospect of eating this artery-clogging delisciousness. It’s like your own personal Jeeves, and you reply back to the applieance, “Oh, why thank you!” Yes, the process of eating has never been so much fun.

    Thanks microwave for another quick fix to get the job done!

    AWESOME!

  41. When you meet someone for the first time and you have a strong feeling that this encounter may lead to an awesome friendship.

  43. GETTING TO YOUR DESTINATION AFTER A ROADTRIP:

    I remember countless road trips to Eastern Washington when I was a kid. My parents, three sisters, two brothers, and I would pile into our Chevrolet Suburban and drive across the mountains to visit our grandparents.

    The road trip was usually cramped and full of arguments, crumbs, spills, farts, and claustrophobia. We would drive late into the night, and arrive at the shady little hotel in my grandparents town in the wee hours of the morning.

    Getting out of the car and into the hotel was nice. But I never got the full effect that the trip was over until I undid my Barbie Velcro shoes, peeled off my sweaty socks, and rubbed my bare feet into the shag carpet.

    AWESOME!

  44. Eating the perfect amount of food
    You aren’t hungry 2 hours later, but you don’t have to undo that pant button either. You’re simply satisfied

  45. Confiding your deepest darkest secret in someone:

    You aren’t alone anymore. And it’s not so deep nor so dark anymore. And you can stop feeling that weight on your chest.

    AWESOME!

  46. 1. Taking off a pair of shoes after a long day, relieving your poor hard working feet and letting them rest up on the foot rest.

    2. Having a great song you forgot you had on your itunes play, amazing.

    3. Helping an old lady cross the street, when no one else is around. Or doing any nice thing without looking for something around.

    4. When you find that one person who knows what you’re thinking without having to say a word.

    5. Being able to look back at something stupid you’ve done, and laugh, looking forward to one day telling your own children.

    6. Knowing that people are still superior to GPS’s and some other electronic devices, as a GPS may lead you to a dead end or tell you to turn right into oncoming traffic on a one way street.

    7. Getting a paper exactly on time.

    8. Looking at the clock when it says 11:11 or 12:34, or 10 o’clock so you can say to yourself “it’s ten o’clock, do you know where your children are” and laugh.

    9. Knowing what you want in life

    10. Accomplishing a small task that you’ve been dreading or just too lazy to do. Washing your car, dusting your room, and other random things.

    11. Watching someone singing in their car, in their own little worlds.

    12. The curiosity of small children, adorable. Everything is just amazing to them!

    13. Finding something you like on sale, after wanting to buy it just yesterday under a much bigger price.

    14. Contagious laughter

    15. Finding that whatever item you’ve dropped is not broken, for example a cell phone or even a lap top!!

    16. Ordering something you’ve never had before at a restaurant and loving it.

    17. Learning something cool that you would have never thought about.

    18. Words. When they start to look weird to you after writing them down so many times. Or when your name looks funny after doing so much paper work writing it down.

    19. That someone’s junk is another ones treasure. It’s great when my friends see something I have and don’t even want, it feels better to give things to someone instead of throwing them away, knowing that they’ll give you something in return!

    20. Pets that are there to bring joy to the lives of the sick or sad. I work at an old age home, and the dogs that the residents families bring in just brighten up the days of the residents and keep them smiling.

    21. Conserving energy, using the mesh bags supermarkets sell, and having to pay less at the gas station for a smaller car.

    22. When the sun shines after a bad rainstorm, like the one this weekend. Today was just awesome and warm.

    23. Eating foods that are great for us, and enjoying them.

    24. Helping someone watch their step, preventing a fall. =)

    25. Childbirth

    26. Getting an A on a paper you thought you did poorly on, or a 100 on a test you thought you failed.

    27. The 27th awesome thing is that someone out there actually read this list. Awesome!

  47. Realizing that the fact that if this has 1869 comments after 3 days, and you factor out the questions and repeated comments, that’s still probably around 1700 awesome things.
    So often everyone gets so engulfed in sadness and hopelessness that we forget. We forget about the awesome side of life.
    We forget about those 1700 awesome things, with the addition of the 453 things Neil has already added, when we’re stuck focusing on the bad.
    And think about it, how many people who commented already knew what they were going to write? How instantly could someone say, “Oh, and that’s awesome too! And that! Oh yeah, I love when this happens!”
    Sometimes we forget. Sometimes I forget. It happens to the best of us. But thankfully we have the ability to recognize how great life can be. And hopefully, well, hopefully that’ll pull us through.

    :)

    1. “Realizing that the fact that if this has 1869 comments after 3 days, and you factor out the questions and repeated comments, that’s still probably around 1700 awesome things.”

      not to mention, some of the entries contain multiple awesome things. that’s SO MUCH AWESOME. :)

  49. 1. this book comes out on my 21st birthday!!! i think it’s pretty self explanatory why that’s awesome :)

    2. accidentally letting your chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream melt. then getting really bummed about finishing it only to find out that the cookie doigh & chcolate are all waiting to be discovered at the bottom.
    that’s awesome cuz it’s DELICIOUS & i’m the kind of person that goes for the goodies first
    yummmmm

  50. a good cry. because we all need some good tear flowing sobs some times. then when it’s over and you realize that your still there and you life isn’t over.
    AWESOME!

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