UNITED STATES—Labor Day is officially over, and school is back in session America! Yup, for those elementary students, middle school students, high school students and college students the world of education is ready to impact our students and young adults. The first day of school can be anxious for many people, especially those entering middle and high school.

I vividly recall my first day of high school, where I didn’t know anyone and it was a struggle to make friends. This is something everyone should be aware of. There are those who ‘see it,’ who ‘sense it,’ yet they never take any action to make someone feel a bit at home or more comfortable. Growing up I ALWAYS wondered why so many teachers would force students to stand up, introduce themselves and say a few things about themselves to the classroom.

For starters, most people are nervous having all the eyes on them. In addition, you have to indulge in a bit of public speaking which no one enjoys America, but it’s an ice-breaker. That is something I pin-pointed as I got older, especially in the collegiate world. I mean last summer marked the official start of me heading back to school to work on my graduate degree after being MIA for nearly a decade.

Man it was scary as hell; I wondered if I would fit in with the rest of the students, many who were like 10 years my senior, however, I must still look young. Why? Teachers even thought I was in my mid-20s. The one caveat that I noticed recently compared to when I first entered college was that my desire to speak up in a public setting has risen significantly.

Ten plus years ago, I would have never been such a huge advocate to speak up in class, but now, I have no problem or anxiety about speaking up in class. Am I the guy raising my hand every 5 seconds, now, but if the professor poses a question and I know the answer to the question, I will without a doubt share my thoughts. For many parents, school is great. It gives them that breather from their kids who ran rampant the entire summer, and didn’t have much interaction with books or learning. I do believe a break from school is always needed, but at the same time, the opportunity to keeping that education churning, even if it’s the smallest thing is important.

The mind is a fragile thing and if you don’t utilize your knowledge it will slowly diminish as time progresses. I have argued this countlessly in the world of mathematics. Math is easy for some, extremely difficult for others, but even for those who are pros in the world of mathematics, if you don’t utilize something it is very easy for you to forget or have trouble remembering how to do complex algebra or statistics. So with school back in session, the kids now have to be on schedule. No more super late nights of TV watching, no more hanging out during all hours with friends, a schedule has to be in place. The schedule is probably the most difficult thing for most people to adjust to, especially for those who are used to getting their way.

Having a good night of sleep is everything. If you’re not well-rested that first day of school, or better yet as the classroom material becomes challenging, the mind will falter. Focus matters in the classroom and if you’re exhausted or not well rested it becomes difficult to grasp the material being present to one. In addition, planning time to work on homework is complicated. There are those students who come home and need an hour or two to decompress before studying.

We also have those students who prefer to tackle that homework as soon as they walk in the door (that was absolutely myself all the way until high school). It’s better to get it done sooner than later, the more that you procrastinate, the more stress you will endure. Now, for those who are college students, I totally understand not working immediately on homework. Why?

Classes are interspersed, not to mention, you run into situations where after class you might work, so it’s nearly impossible to do 100 pages of reading without having any focus. So if you have classes on Mondays and Wednesday, you’re keen to work on that workload on that day where you don’t have classes. In some cases, you might be doing homework for 6-8 hours, but you’ll get everything done and not stress about last minute assignments.

I always make the argument I’m a fan of the fall months. It’s not because we have all the family holidays, it’s because routine comes back into place. Things have to be done and having a bit of organization makes all the difference America. School is not as bad, as so many people like to think it is, in the long run you build lifelong bonds, you obtain education that no one can take from you and you learn what you’re capable of. Embrace it, don’t run from it.