I Remember No. 2 Pencils

Here's a great article from the NY TIMES regarding the lack of a definitive "back-to-school" ritual once we are no longer in school.

Clean Slate

I remember no. 2 pencils. They were always so fresh and new, and the first few days the classroom was filled with the sounds and smells of sharpening. And clean white paper. I always liked college-ruled, because it gave me more room to write on one side. Oh, and there was nothing like creating that one-of-a-kind book cover for your school texts. I always spent hours at the kitchen table with discarded brown paper bags, crayola markers, and a ruler, trying to make my books look "cool."