Overstuffed backpacks and other memories

Today it's the first day of school where I live and it brought some nostalgia about my very first day of school 28 years ago.

As children with overstuffed backpacks are passing by my street in this (finally) crisp and cool September morning, I'm brought back to my very first day of school. It was 28 years ago and I was wearing jeans overalls.

"Really?? Lucky them haha." My friend's message in the elementary school WhatsApp group made me smile since I was thinking the same thing about the chilren I was spotting from my window. Being in a small village, our class was the largest one with 12 children, evenly splitted between boys and girls. We are still friends nowadays and, us girls, have a WhatsApp group to coordinate annual-ish meetups during the village fest. We all live somewhere else, some even abroad, but we still have our families in the village and we all agree that the elementary school years have been the absolute best ones of our lives so far.

Despite hating them, the sight of the first stinking bug is always a welcome one, as it means that the Summer heat is fading.

This September also marks one year since I moved in the city and, almost one year since I joined Substack. Not exactly a coincidence as I created this space in order to have a creative outlet that would have helped me coping with a break-up, a move and a demanding job.

I didn't write as much as I would have liked to, but I'm happy that I didn't give up, especially after those months that I didn't feel like publishing anything at all. I simply waited for the right moment and it was okay. Keeping it simple is the way to go for me.

It's a constant inner battle as I try my best to spend as much free time as possible away from screens but, at the same time, I would like to write and share some more words here.

As I think back with fondness of my childhood, I realize how much it was in tune with the season. Globalization wasn't as widespread as now, we bought things locally, I didn't get planner stickers from China delivered in my mailbox, my mother received a photocopied list of school items to buy for me from the teachers and we visited several shops and the supermarket in order to gather all the essentials. My backpack and pencil case were from a local mountain gear brand and didn't have an american-sounding name, they were sturdy (I still have them) and extremely functional.

I can't deny that the present day has its own perks and commodities but I often think back with nostalgia at that time when I couldn't speak a word of English and my world was definitely small but incredibly happy.