Back To School

It’s September, and September means back to class. It was a strange feeling as a kid, when those “back to school” advertisements started popping up half way through August. It always felt along the lines of “no way, there’s so much summer left!” and before we knew it, there we were – September; catching the bus, wearing our favourite new shirts, shoes, and backpacks.

September now is a shoulder season – that awkward in-between of summer and winter. I love autumn, but Calgary chooses to near skip it entirely most years, making these next months feel a bit “in limbo” in terms of weather. Are we hiking or skiing? Sure, afternoons are great, but scraping your windshield on (what will become) a 17 degree day can feel a bit strange. There is of course Calgary’s classic “Indian Summer,” and October is easily the best month of the year for sports – but you know.

There was a magic to that “back to school” feeling. Seeing all of your old friends. Learning who was to be in your classes and what teachers you’d have. Come university, it was a sunny start to binge drinking with little to no repercussions (thanks to a week of “chill” classes before content really got rolling). I miss it, from time to time. Those were years of less cares – no matter what homework may have piled up. Bills were minimal, and the fears of aging weren’t yet a thought.

This playlist is an ode to those times. For my generation specifically, of course. For those, we’ll say ball park, born between ’86 and ’93 – this is 5 damn hours of the tracks that took us from K through 12 and a bit into university. These are the songs sung in the back of mom’s mini-van. These are Jr. High dances, bad hair cuts, acne, awkward phases (some of which were never outgrown), first loves, high school grad, underage drinking, learning to drive, skipping the odd class (and for us nerds, feeling guilty), and really, growing up. This list is summers free for road hockey; it’s laser quest and when birthday parties ended with grab bags over hangovers.

I hope you enjoy it. I hope you sing along. I hope this takes you back, and I hope it leaves you with a smile.

Now tune in; class is in session.

Much love.