The older we get, the faster time seems to rocket past us. The only saving grace is that we know it and can consciously take advantage of this.
Kevin Scruggs was keenly aware of it with his daughters, Mackenzie and Madison, so he started a tradition with them, filming interviews with each of his daughters on their first day of school every year. Mackenzie graduated high school back in 2017, and at the time, Kevin released a video of all those interviews.
Now, as she prepares to graduate from high school, it’s Madison’s turn to look back over 13 years of first day of school interviews.
Back in kindergarten, little Madison was already on-board with this whole “school” thing.
Her very first day of school seemed to go over well, as Kevin asked her if she wanted to go back the next day, and she replied “Every day,” with a big smile.
First grade was a significant upgrade over kindergarten, Madison found.
She found it “real easy and fun,” and she was fascinated by the “big building” that had “little tiny tables that you sit on.”
The second grade interview was conducted over ice cream.
Madison and her dad discussed homework — she had none after the first day — and whether second grade would be hard — “Maybe.”
It seems like ice cream was a hit in second grade, so they went for more in third grade.
And it’s possible that Madison was a bit distracted by her treat because when her dad asked her what grade she was in, she said “third” but held up four fingers.
The first day of fourth grade, Madison had one big highlight.
“I sat outside and ate my lunch.” Nothing wrong with that!
Madison’s teacher for fifth grade made a good impression right away.
“I like his rules,” she said, “because he gives us a lot more responsibility on our own.”
That responsibility must have rubbed off on Madison by sixth grade.
“I was ready at 7,” she said, “so I had to wait 45 minutes for everyone else to be ready.” Unfortunately, she also discovered that she wasn’t the tallest in her grade.
Seventh grade brought the switch to junior high.
And she was really looking forward to that change. “It’s just going to be independent, so we don’t have to follow lines and we don’t have to do all that stuff,” she said. “And we have lockers now.”
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Madison got to do an interesting exercise to start eighth grade.
She described having to roll and Oreo down her face from her forehead and trying to get it into her mouth without using her hands.
Ninth grade, and thus high school, started with Spanish classes, with the teacher asking questions in Spanish.
“When we didn’t know it we had to figure it out, and so she’d make noises trying to tell us what it is, so that was fun.”
Starting tenth grade was less about the academics than the friendships.
And specifically the girl Madison was sharing a locker with, and all those things like “hair ties and chapstick and deodorant and dry shampoo and hand sanitizer and gum, and so we’re prepared for everything.”
You’d think that by eleventh grade, Madison might have gotten tired of this routine, but no.
Actually, it was a great opportunity to rib her dad about all the parties she planned on going to.
And then, suddenly, twelfth grade was upon them, the last first day of school.
And like most seniors, she was most looking forward “prom and graduation” that year.
Kevin’s video ends with a retrospective of all the times they said “I love you” to each other over the years, and if that doesn’t stir your heart, I don’t know what will.
Check out the full video below.
