It's Labor Day weekend and tradition says we put away our white shoes. I marked the end of the summer season with a final outdoor swim under a gloriously blue sky.
Fall has always been my favorite season, perhaps because I love the thrill of another academic year, but also because fall is a natural time of transition. The weather changes and the wind can be felt in our bones, gently at first, cautioning us to prepare for the sharper chills of winter when we'll curl up cozy at home with our loved ones or venture outside only in the warmest of apparel.
I'm lucky this fall to have finished my first week of teaching writing at Manchester Community College, a wonderfully diverse and inspirational community in my home state of Connecticut.
My year of exploration and teaching in Europe yielded many insights that I am just beginning to understand. For the moment, I have returned to my origins, to the United States, to Connecticut, to savor the taste of autumn apples and to enjoy the process of getting to know my nearly fifty new students.
Each one has a different reason to be pursuing higher education- whether they intend to use their education to further their climb on the career ladder or if they have more immediate plans to transfer to four-year college, each one is unique and I am enjoying the process of reading their goals for the semester.
On this day, when we commemorate workers by pausing, I'm thankful for all the workers who keep our community going, no matter what role they play.
