Back to School

As my youngest sister is the only child still living at home with the parents, but does not have her full driver's license yet, she doesn't get out much. Mom and Dad's place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, especially when you're 16 years old. So, whenever I come to visit, I take her shopping. Mom and Dad don't have time or energy to take her out anymore, and I might feel a tad bit guilty that she is stuck at home during her teenage years by herself at home.
Today, I took the little one back to school shopping. I can now understand why Mom always hated taking us back to school shopping. There are mothers and children everywhere, most of them arguing about the brands of school supplies they are allowed to get. The aisles are lined with boxes full of colourful school supplies, everything you could possibly ever need and more, half of which have been knocked onto the floor, so that between the supplies on the floor and the children standing around in the middle of the aisle it's nearly impossible to get your cart through. And then, when you have something to say to the student that you're shopping with, they've wandered off and you're talking to a random sullen-looking teen with her arms full of pens and binders who is giving you a rather pissed off look for even thinking you could talk to her. You then get to give your opinion on what type of pencil looks the best and what kind of binder will work the best for her course schedule and wait around while she decides what will work for her, and at the end you get to shell out the money for over-priced school supplies you most likely will never see again. No wonder Mom hated it.
I'm a little sad that I don't get to have a "back to school" this year, though. I always used to love getting all of the new supplies. It was a chance to start out fresh, you never knew what the upcoming year would hold, but there was always a promise of change - brand new classes that you would meet new people in, and you could guarentee it wouldn't be like last year.
This is my last new semester - for this diploma at least. But with only two classes and having been in school all summer, it's not really a new school beginning. Placement on the otherhand, is an entirely new beginning, and I have really high hopes for this one. I've learned from the last one and grew a lot and know what I need to do at the new one. It's on. This is my September new beginning.