CandyMag.Com

I know it’s lame — the fact that everyone needs to have something new to wear to school on the first day of classses for others to ooh and ahh about. There isn’t a single, meaningful purpose for it. Still, who am I to snub the bandwagon?

So three days ago, I spent an entire afternoon at the mall looking for something new to wear to school. And this time around, shopping wasn’t easy. A bad was out of the question because I had just bought one some days before graduation. Hair clips were a no-no because the ones worth buying are too colorful for my simple school’s taste. Actual accessories might possibly get me expelled! Shoes, I can never really buy without Mom. She has great taste.

So I settled on a pair of socks (woohoo!). And with my security blanket around my ankles, I set out for school. Predictably, you could hear the screams a block away from campus: “SHRIEK! How’ve you been?! I love you new (insert thing mooched off from parents here),” a buss on the cheek, capped off with a fierce hug. “I so missed you! You will die hearing about my summer” (which doesn’t make sense because how much of a killer summer can one have if she misses someone else?). My friend Anne calls this litany the First Day Script, which everyone who’s anyone has to memorize. As I entered the classroom, the pitch became frenzied, although the greetings never varied. Strangely, they all reminded me of bees, buzzing about, acting as if they had a lifetime to catch up on, when all it was was two short, hot months.

But don’t get me wrong, I love catchign up with my friends. I saw them all huddled at the back, Nicole talking animatedly as Jill and Anne looked around. Anne, as usual, looked disgusted. By the time I crossed the room, she said dryly, “Please Katie. Save me from all this phoniness.”

I had to laugh, “I missed you, Anne!” before I shrieked and bussed her on the cheek. She threw me a dagger look before Nicole swept me away and did the First Day Script on me, minus the “I love your new thing” part, which was the prood that she was genuine (if I needed more proof). Because really, who in the world notices new socks anyway!?

Jill pretended to notice. “There’s something new about you which I can’t quite put a finger on,” before she grinned from ear-to-ear, and I realized she was pulling my leg. It got me thinking, why did I have to have something new to wear to school anyway? Why does everyone need to look ‘new’ on the first day of school? Are we all so afraid of looking exactly the way we did one whole year level ago? Is there so much of a difference? Are the new things supposed to be proof we’ve gotten more out of the vacation than anyone else has? Or is it simply that we work on our appearances to look more grown-up and to fit in better in high school? Why do we want to be so different from the way that we were?

My mind was a whirl as the teacher arrived and we all had to sit down to listen to class policies. I think I might’ve crossed my legs and swung them awhile to draw attention to my shin, but I realized, what’s the point? Why fish for a compliment? After which, Jill passes me a post-it with the words “New socks!” My shoulders shook, and I had to keep from laughing uncontrollably. There I was, having spent the better part of one day looking for my perfect new thing, going to class short of painting my new socks red just so I can get a compliment out of it, and Jill tell me: New Socks. ‘New’ doesn’t mean nice. ‘New’ is just new — a neutral adjective that states a fact. WIthout her knowing it, Jill did me a world of good. At the very least, she has pegged down my vanity a notch or two.

At the end of the day, what did I notice? Not the new things really (except for Lianne’s new neon green retro-printed bag which literally gave me an eye strain, and I’m not trying to be mean). At the end of the day, I realized, after all the hype, no one can glam up the fact that we’re back to the old sweatshop. At the end of the day, the only thing we’re oh-so-painfully aware of is how it’s back to the old workload. And if all the shrieking doesn’t bum you out, the ton of assignments might. So I guess, welcome back!