I'm feeling the desire to be contrary...

...so I'm going to talk about the reasons I'm ready for school to begin. Lest we academics give ourselves a bad name out here in the blogosphere with all this moaning and groaning about classes starting, I'm here to say that if I had to go one more month without teaching, I might end up in the loony bin. I was productive with my writing this summer. I have a new project I'm excited about. I had fun this summer. I made new friends and took Belly swimming a few times. I went to Virginia, Florida, and Massachusetts, and got a head cold on each trip. But I saw my family and friends and it was rejuvenating.

Teaching makes me feel good. That's not just a load of shit for a teaching philosophy. I love students. They're smart and they're funny and they always--always--make me think about things differently than I do right now. Life is one long search for connection, and with students I often feel like I'm connecting in ways it would be impossible to connect with anyone else.

Plus they make me laugh.

So, here's to a new school year, my friends. Autumn is my favorite season, school is my favorite place, I've got the best job in the world, and life is good.