#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 the weather is just right.

    No need to open your coffers to Mr. Heating Man or Ms. Air Conditioning. Save a buck and open up the windows and let the refreshing spring air enter your abode!

    AWESOME!

    1. “Our” lover? You share yours? Are we talking about some sort of polygamy, Angie? :)

      Just teasing! Lovers are truly awesome!

  3. I’m a geek, this probably doesn’t really apply to the average person, but I think its awesome.

    Learning “Hello World” in a new programming language.

    I suppose could also be learning a specific word in any new language.

  4. When you toss a balloon to your friend and it turns into the most intense game of keeping it in the air. Everyone in the room becomes captivated by it.

  5. just found my 5 year old son’s list written to Santa, 4 months after Christmas. Wooden Rifle, Swiss Army
    Knife, yoyo.

    1. What’s also awesome about this, is it sounds like the Christmas list of a kid from 50 years ago!

      I think my nephew’s list is something like: Wii games, Batman Figures, a rocket bike.

      Congrats on having such a cool kid.. (but I’d worried about giving you 5-year old a knife!)

  6. Saturday morning cartoons. Curled up on the couch with your bowl of cereal and the comforter from your bed, watching cartoons.

    Or turning on the TV to see a show you loved as a kid and remembering the whole episode.

  7. When someone associates you with something everytime they see/hear it. For example, the Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie so I love when people immediately think of me anytime they see something Wizard of Oz related because its awesome to know people are thinking of you.

    1. I’m obsessed with elephants and everyone i know thinks of me when they see them. love it!

  8. The word “Awesome”! The first part gives you the “Aaaa”, the second part gives you the puckered lips! AWESOME!

  9. being at home ALONE

    no annoying sisters or brothers, nobody is commanding you to do the wash or something like that. its just you, youself and i. its time to waste your precious alone-time and watch a movie :P

    or write something awesome and hope it will be good enough for the ”BOOK OF AWESOME”

    option #2 is to start to learn english grammar, cuz im dutch

  10. Moving after a really dull meeting that you never thought would end.

    You sit there for what feels like an eternity, listening (or not) to people go on about plans, projections, more plans, some statistics, a few more projections, and a bit more planning, and time mo.v..e….s s…l…o…w…l…y. And you are sitting still…

    Then, before you know it, then meeting is over, and people leave the room.

    You stretch, and move your legs, your arms, your shoulders.

    Awesome!

  11. – The way a good concert can transport you to another place and leave you feeling uplifted for days.

    This one time I was having a pretty bad couple of weeks. Unrequited love, best friends moving away, best friends fading away… I went to a show where I expected to see an old and dear friend only to find out that he’d moved away months before and hadn’t told me. I was hurt. It was just another thing to throw on the pile of un-awesomeness that had been consuming me. And then the band started. For the next hour and a half I fell into the music and the lyrics and just felt AWESOME. When it was over I had a post-show high that didn’t leave me for days.

    1. Oh man, I definitely know what you mean! I saw Muse live in Chicago on Friday and that experience is definitely carrying me through finals week.

  12. when you think of a really good come-back in an argument and you go away feeling really smug :)

  16. When your ears are ringing after a particularly good concert. Its like your own little temporary souvenir.

  21. the most awesome thing that i like to do is to look at someone’s nose – most likely a friend or possibly a new bf or gf’s nose and figure out which one of my fingers would fit solidly into their nostril….and then actually try it out.

    now, mostly best friends are ok with this and i have found that some boys are too, but man is it cool to know that only my pinky fits up my nostril, but i have even gotten a thumb up someone’s nostril before. purely AWESOME!!

    2. Tricia – you should meet my sister. She always thought my nostrils were HUGE (they aren’t – very average-sized). She teased me for years – then one day I’m taking a nap and wake up to find her trying to stuff a GRAPE up my nose. She was certain it would fit – luckily, it didn’t! I’m finally vindicated!

  22. When you make an obscure reference to your favorite TV show or movie, and someone acknowledges that reference.

    1. It’s great! Like when you’re singing a song you don’t think anyone else would know and someone chimes in with the next line.

    1. They once gave me a free drink because my name was the same as the barista taking my order. Now that is AWESOME!

  26. – When Your Favorite Band Comes To Town. — It’s out of the blue… The radio station announced that your favorite band is coming to town. You stress about buying tickets. Wake up early on a Saturday. Make sure your internet is working. You stare at the clock and it looks like it’s stuck at 9:59am. Then BAM, it’s 10am. You click “Buy Tickets” and wait for the page to load. Your heart is racing and it feels like pure chaos… “Best Available?” “Section K?” “What price level?” You enter the weird captcha word, “God, I hope I don’t mistype this.” “Your tickets are being held for 3:00…2:59…2:58…2:57.” “I have to type my credit card information and my personal info in less than, ah! 2 minutes and 30 seconds!” Your hands are shaking as you type as quickly and accurately as possible. You click “Submit Order.” (click only once. do not use your browser’s back button.) It says “Processing.” You’re tapping your fingers on the desk waiting for that little circular animation to stop, and then, SUCCESS! “Your Order Is Complete.” Bonus: You think about going back to bed, but you’re too wide awake now so you stand up, get dressed, and call your friends for brunch.

    1. Agreed. And also because even though your vacation may be over, you still get to take a plane ride home. Hello?!?! Awesome!

  29. I love when something said in conversation reminds you of a song. Songs can be related to almost anything. It is even more awesome when you are someone else are reminded of the same song and both start randomly singing at the same time! AWESOME!

    1. The best. I love being able to see awesome explosions and crazy space technology that I’ll never get the chance to experience in real life.

  32. Proving Know-It-All Friends Wrong

    Whether it’s arguing over the pronunciation/definition of a specific word, the date of an event, or some random fact that no normal person should really know, the moment you can come up with solid proof your know-it-all friend is wrong and you are right makes you the smartest person in the world…even if it is for just that fraction of a second.

  33. The commenters on 1000 Awesome Things.

    Because I’ve been getting emails with the replies to every one of these posts and I can’t think of a better way to spend my day than by getting 20 emails at a time of totally awesome things, and people just sharing their little moments of happiness with the rest of us.

  34. Traditions.

    Traditions have a mirror-like quality: you look back on the memories in fondness and you look forward to doing them again.

  35. Fondue!

    Is awesome. But even better than going to a fondue restaurant is making it at home. My boyfriend and I spent 4 hours one night eating dinner. We started with cheese and prepared everything, then chicken, then finally dessert. It was amazing. And we had so much chocolate left over that we put it in the fridge and made fudge out of it. Awesome!

    1. Here, here! Fondue has it all….

      My general philosophy on food is that if doesn’t have cheese or chocolate, it’s not worth eating…

    2. Fondue is SO awesome! My extended family on my father’s side has had a fondue dinner every Christmas Eve for almost 40 years now. Delicious, and everyone can get exactly what they want.

  36. The perfect hair cut.

    So your hair has been okay for the past year. It is just average, average amount of good hair days, and average amount of bad hair days, and mostly just eh hair days. But something is missing. You decide to get it cut, but your hair cuts never turn out quite like you hoped and a few weeks later you are always wishing you hadn’t cut it. But then comes the ever so fleeting perfect hair cut. It fits your face, it makes you look great in your clothes, everyone is complimenting you, and you can wear it like 5 different ways and it still looks great!

    I recently cut 10 inches off my hair. I do this about once a year or so. And I always regret cutting it 2 weeks after I cut it, but the long hair just gets so annoying. But last week, I got the perfect hair cut. And seeing my reflection in the mirror and hearing all the praise, is just well Awesome!

    1. I always let my hair get so long that when I cut it my neck feels so great. All of the weight of my super thick hair is gone, I also find I get less headaches. Hmmm, guess it’s time for a hair cut.

      1. I know exactly what you mean! And the next time you shower and are shampooing or conditioning your hair it feels so great!

    2. I just got the perfect short hair cut too. (After about three years of not cutting it.) Also awesome is the first shampoo after cutting your hair really short. you’re using way less shampoo, and there’s always that moment of surprise when your hands automatically try to wash the hair that’s not there anymore.

  37. Its awesome when you have great news to share with others and they share in your happiness and excitement

  38. Uncles

    I was picking kids up from school yesterday. While I stood, waiting for one of my kids I saw a mother and her brother waiting for their kids. They had to run across the parking lot so the mother calls out to her son: “Wait here for your sister and your cousin.”
    Boy: “Aw, do I have to?”
    Mom: “Yes.”
    Boy: “But….”
    Mom: “Do it.”
    The boy was then resigned to his fate of waiting in one spot for 2-3 minutes. TORTURE! Right?
    Uncle: “Hey…”
    Uncle reaches into his pocket, boy stops to watch with an “Is he going to do it?” look on his face.
    Mom: “No…. NO!…… Really?”
    Uncle hands the kids at least three dollars. The kids just beams and Mom rolls her eyes. Mean while the uncle looks like nothing just happened.

    I love it! There is no way that man would have handed his own kid three dollars to wait for his cousins, but since it was a nephew it was all fair game. Uncles are great, they don’t care if their sister is there telling them not to. They can spoil the kid as much as they want. You know why? THEY don’t have to take them home.

  40. I know it sounds lame but as my name eludes to…the most awesomest thing happening in my world right now is watching my 13 year old become a young lady. It’s super fun and super sad all rolled into one.

  42. Getting a new bank card or credit card can be pretty awesome in itself, but for me, nothing beats the joy of peeling that card off the paper and finding that tiny strip of sticky glue-like substance that holds the card to the page. Oh, the wonders to be found and the power that is held in that little strip of genius. Nothing beats the feeling of peeling that strip from the page or the card and musing over its subtle strength. The texture: firm yet pliable, sticky but not gooey. Feels oh so neat! And what makes it even more awesome is that it is a fleeting moment, for try as you might to reuse the sticky strip, it is a one time deal. So I wrap it once around my index finger and then mould it into a little roll before tossing it back into the envelope it came and picking up the phone to activate the new card. Which brings us to exciting moment number 2: peeling off the “how to activate your card” sticker. Oh, the satisfaction.

    1. That sticky stuff rocks! Oh how I cherish it. When we were younger my sister and I used to fight over it.

  43. Laughing during a dream and actually waking yourself up. This only happens to me about once a year but it is always such a great thing.

  44. Blankets and Sheets fresh out of the dryer and onto your bed. Then snuggling up into them.

    1. Even better for me are fresh sheets that have been hanging outside to dry on a breezy warm summer’s day… they practically smell like sunshine! *sigh* So good!

    1. This is so true! Especially when it actually comes in handy for once…like the winning question on a team board game!

  46. A view from your bedroom window: Waking up in the morning and looking out at your own personal flowing landscape/towering skyline/whatever you love see. Starting off your day with a sunbeam and a glowing portrait of Wherever You Are = pretty darn awesome.

  47. Running into a good friend you don’t see that often.

    I met my best guy friend at this mission camp I do every summer. I’m not used to seeing him that often because we aren’t from the same home town. I started dating his best friend though and made a lot of trips to visit and my boyfriend and him visited me a lot. I then decided to go to the college that he was already attending (he is 2 years older than me) I thought, “man this is great, I will be able to see him all the time!” Yea, that didn’t happen. With me being a new freshmen and him being a junior, life was busy for the both of us. First semester we had a meeting time once a week between classes to chat for like 5 minutes. But after that, I saw him less and less. I wasn’t dating his best friend anymore, I had new friends and a new life, he had mountains of homework, a girlfriend that moved in with him, and we had all sorts of promises and wishes to hang out that always fell short. But every so often, you are some place that you normally aren’t at that time, and you see the familiar face in the crowd of students.

    This would make my day. It could be the worst day ever and just seeing my best friend would make everything better. I would jump and squeel and race towards him for a quick hug and maybe 10 minutes of chatting before we were on our busy ways again. But for that one day, one moment, things were Awesome!

  48. When you are able to get your favourite food after not having it for a long while. Soft ice that’s only sold during summer, strawberries, glühwein, Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas dessert…

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