I forgot.

For the first time in 18 months, I was back in a classroom today.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay.

I forgot the anticipation of walking into a classroom full of students.

I forgot.
I forgot the electricity.
I forgot the energy.
I forgot the give-and-take.
I forgot how time flies.
I forgot how it feels to see someone nod in understanding.
I forgot how it feels to see someone frown and realize I could explain better.
I forgot the satisfying feeling of covering a blackboard with scrawls.
I forgot how it feels to laugh out loud in class at a student’s wit.
I forgot how it feels to hear students erupt in laughter at something I said.
I forgot how I enjoy sharing stories.
I forgot the thrill of rediscovering a topic, along with 100 other people.
I forgot how it feels to connect with each person in an audience of a hundred.
I forgot how a student’s question makes me pause and think live.
I forgot how a classroom makes me feel alive.
I forgot the high of teaching in front of intelligent, curious students.
I forgot the feeling of losing myself in front of a classroom.
I forgot how much I love my job.
I forgot.

To every student who was in my Reliable Distributed Systems class today, thank you.

Thank you for making my day, thank you for reminding me of why I love my job, and thank you for making it such a joy to be back on campus.