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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

When August comes around each year, one of my first thoughts is “School is starting soon.” When I was between the ages of 5 and 21, a nervous feeling would accompany those thoughts.

Now, two years removed from schooling, I still cannot help but reminisce on the 16 consecutive Augusts where the new school year brought both excitement and a cautious nervousness.

In elementary and middle school, it was more of a personal pressure put upon myself to do well that made the new school year a bit stressful. In high school, it was the normal teenage fears and apprehensions starting a new year. In college, well, starting a new year was full of dread, but the outcome was worth it.

Kids all across Chilton County began school on Aug. 10. When I was at Thorsby High School talking with students from both elementary and high school, I was hoping they would not feel the same way I would starting a school year.

When I look back on it, there was no need to be stressed about anything starting a school year. I laugh when I think about why I would be so nervous starting because in the end, there was nothing to worry about.

That is the kind of mindset I hope each kid in Chilton County had this past week starting school, from kindergarten to high school seniors. It is important to enjoy your time in school, being with friends and learning new things that may spark a new passion in your life. Your time this school year is too valuable and short to have worries about things that are not in your control, which is what I was guilty of.

The only thing you can control is how you approach your learning, and how you utilize it. Both students I spoke with at Thorsby on Aug. 10 seem to have the right approach. However, not everyone will.

Someone may be apprehensive about starting the new year, and that is okay. Everyone has their own worries in life, and adding school work on top of everyday life can be a burden and tough to do. It is important to remember that you are not alone in it, and that you have others right there in your class doing the same thing. Do not be ashamed to ask for help with school work or to help manage stresses.

Doing the school work is important, but I would argue the mindset while doing it is more important to the overall success of the student.

Nonetheless, good luck to all the students starting school this week, and remember to take a deep breath.