It’s that time of year. Time for students to head to classes.

For those embarking on their first day — whether it be young children stepping into to their first formal classroom, older children walking into a new school or young adults moving on to higher educations — it can be both an exciting and somewhat frightening experience.

It’s also a time of opportunity to be embraced. Beginning a new educational setting offers a chance for new experiences and to broaden horizons. It can provide a chance to make new choices which can change the entire trajectory of a life. It can also present the opportunity to see new faces and make new friends.

For those at the beginning of their journey, it is a time to be embraced, despite any intimidation one might feel.

For others, the first day returning to classes can be bittersweet, especially for those returning for their final first day in a school or college.

For high school and college seniors especially, it offers a chance to appreciate the achievement of having made it this far while reflecting on the memories of the past and the friendships made along the way. While the closing of such a chapter can evoke sadness of the familiar faces and places being left behind, it too offers a chance to look to what the future may bring and cherish the limited moments remaining before moving on at the end of the year or semester.

Whether a student is embarking on a new chapter or readying to leave their current one behind, they should make the most of the time they have and embrace the challenges and opportunities to come.

— JP