Another school year is upon us. The hustle and bustle of students around campus has returned, as has the excitement for the new semester.

I don't know if you're anything like me, but if you are, the start of school is something that you're eager for. There's just something about it -- the school supplies shopping, getting new text books, picking classes, seeing friends you didn't get to during summer. It's a fresh start and another chance to improve yourself. When I was in third grade, I used to ask for extra homework every weekend (I know, I'm a nerd). I truly loved going to school and learning. Over the years, this has changed for many reasons. My biggest problem, though, is that these feelings of new excitement often fade quickly when I start going to my lectures.

The first day of class is a novelty. I always have my planner and colored pens ready to go, my laptop charged up to take notes, and my outfit planned down to the last earring. I arrive ready to see my classmates and get a read on my professors. Then I see the syllabus. Another boring class with boring lessons. I've grown so tired of dying a little more inside with every class I don't want to have to take. I'm an adult (sort of), and I want to be treated as such and make choices based on the future I'm looking for.

For a lot of my high school and early college careers, I was told exactly what classes I had to take to earn my degree. I needed this many science classes and that many math ones. They'd very rarely offer me a choice of two or three that I could pick from (oh goody). This process drained me of my love for school. Only I truly know what I love to study, how I learn best, and what I'm considering doing with my degree. For this reason, it's been frustrating in previous years to be given limitations and rules in this area. It had made school less enjoyable and stripped me of the motivation that I was overflowing with in middle school.

When I was picking classes this year, though, nine-year-old Aubrey woke up a bit. While looking at my course outline, I found that I only had four mandatory English classes to take, and two Business Management ones. The rest were up to me. Now, the list wasn't gigantic or anything, but I found classes that sounded right up my alley: Creative Writing, Imagined Worlds, and Human Resources. These are lectures that I'll actually use in my future career. They'll impact me and draw me in. I will go to class with excitement and a newfound fire under my feet for learning.

I might have had to wait a bit for this, but I feel on top of the world knowing that my degree will be catered to me. I get to call some of the shots and have some control over my education. It seems like I never actually realized what had been pushing away my motivation until the problem eased up.

Now, I'm full of anticipation for the new year. This time, I expect that feeling to be around for quite a while.