Back to school.

What should have felt like an unpleasant leap into cold water was something entirely different for me today. I didn't find the prospect of school starting as something shocking or draggy. For me, it felt more like the simple resumption of a life... one that I had led before the summer began.

Maybe it's cos I'm a Year 3 student this year. I feel as if I've crossed a benchmark, and that's proof enough of my mettle. I've survived the tough foundation years; and now have more or less adapted to the campus lifestyle. If I were to bring in the metaphor of diving once more, then my dive would be more of a graceful arc into a sea of blue. Sure, practised and smooth; despite the incessant feeling of butterflies in my stomach along the way.

And so it was. The usual routine of school... New profs to face; new course-mates to reckon with and the challenge of an alien module. Not to mention the laborious process of hunting down second-hand textbooks or queuing up for new ones. I feel as if i've done it ten times before.

Then there's the usual strain of getting your brain all fired up to absorb the new knowledge. This was especially draining today, and by the time my class ended, my mind was calling for a time-out. It was 6.45pm, and I was giddy with exhaustion. I had a quick dinner, then headed for home.

And so now I sit here, once more tapping on my laptop as my textbook lies open beside me.

Welcome back, SMU.