Nostalgia Of School

Hi guys! On Friday, I visited my old secondary school to watch the Jazz Café (which was INSANE, as usual! [Shoutout to Beth, Ellie, Katie, Big Hair Joe, Toby, and David, as well as Simon+Veale+Clayton]) - a concert of old-school Jazz music as well as contemporary music played/sung in a Jazz style. When I went to the school, I was a part of the Jazz Café for 5 years, and this year’s was the first since year 7 that I didn’t perform in it. Watching the current students and seeing my old teachers again got me thinking about what life was like at secondary school, and who I used to be there. Therefore, today’s post will be a short (and hopefully sweet) little piece of my past.

What do I miss about school?

1. I miss only having 1 hour long lessons. (At college, they’re 1.5 hours each!) 
2. I miss my Music teacher and lessons. (<3 u Simon.)
3. I miss knowing who everyone in my year was. (210 pupils/year at school, over 3,000 students at my college.)
4. I miss performing in the concerts. (I don’t have the chance to at college; my timetable always clashes.)
5. I miss wearing a uniform. (Yes, really! It was so much less hassle to not think about what to wear every morning!)

But…

1. Having 1.5 hour long lessons gives me a chance to focus more and go into more detail with each subject. I actually find that by then end of the lesson I’m craving more knowledge, more detail, because I’m so immersed in said topic.
2. Because I no longer do such a range of subjects (used to do 12, now only do 4) I have more time to focus deeper on the subjects that interest me. There’s absolutely no way that anyone could do 5 A Levels in as much detail as you need, let alone 12! Although I still don’t have a solution for missing my Music teacher :(.
3. There are so many more people in college than school, which is great because that means there’s so many more potential friends! You can get to know such a range of diverse people from all around the area, broadening your knowledge and friendship group. Plus, there’s always at least one person on a free at the same time as you. Bonus. 
4. Even if I did have the chance to perform nowadays, I wouldn’t have the time. Revision and general life take up a lot of my personal timetable, not including the time already spent at college. In addition to the time-taking-up, the extra stress wouldn’t be good for me. Always see the good within the seemingly ‘bad’. 
5. Being able to wear my own clothes may be a time constraint, but it’s also a great way of expressing yourself and it’s another symbol of choosing your own path in life. Now that I’m older, I find it nicely symbolic that I have the opportunity to decide what I wear, because now I have to decide what I do, as well. AND; no more ties! I definitely don’t miss the peanutting of ties. 

Seeing the Jazz Café made me nostalgic and slightly sad, but it also made me think about how much I’ve grown and matured since school ended. And I’m extremely glad for that.