September Beginnings

September marks the beginning of the new semester for me. It means a new lecture hall filled with new expectant faces. Fresh blood to open up to and teach. Beautiful new ideas floating around in the air. You can step into a classroom and smell that mingling odor of both fear and excitement. My students always try their hardest to swallow their fear and take the first step with a question or an original thought. I wouldn't take back one student's statement for the life of me. Everything spoken in the lecture hall is sacred.

While the leaves are dying outside, September marks the beginning of many lives in my family. Adeline, my precious grandmother, was born the first day of September. My uncle was born September 17th. He is the only brother surviving in my father's family. September 21st marks the birth of my mother. If it were not for her, I would not be writing this under the fall foliage watching the rain clouds gather for one last hoorah. September 27th marks a day of marriage between my parents. Though the marriage is now broken and my father now deceased, the day is still marked on Mother's calendar and she still sings a song of gladness for all that they shared. She knows that were it not for their union, her darling children would not be living.

The rain has just started here in a mist. I can smell the wet pavement and its acrid smell hits my nostrils just right. Rotting leaves scatter about my feet. Fall comes early here where I live. At the end of August, the trees are already feeling the ache of the heaviness of their leaves. Shedding their bark and upper foliage creates a beautiful carpet and canopy of color. If Fall were a person, it would be the most beautiful redhead with dark eyes and a full rich smile. Playfully, she would toss her red curls around and laugh with the crisp wind.

I can only hope in the month to come that my students find nature to be inspiring in their thoughts. When a student can bring nature into Shakespeare, truly it is a blessed occasion.

Life is a beautiful richness that is only further amplified in falltime.

-Mischalina