Right now, as I am sitting here, with the windows opened, I can smell that familiar smell.  It is very nostalgic, because that is when school starts every year. It is the smell every year, as when I waited for my mom to pick me up.  It's the same smell as when I used to walk home everyday after staying at a friend's house for a bowl of ramen, or some snacks.

The weather is pleasant, the days are long, the breeze is refreshing.  

One distinct difference though: whereas I used to be too frantic or anxious to enjoy this when I was young and in school, I now have the luxury to sit down with a cup of tea, and soak it all in.

Recently, I turned 24.  Time goes by at its usual steady pace.  I originally intended this to be done every decade, but due to technical difficulties, I wasn't able to record myself talking about life in the last decade when I just turned 20.  Maybe I'll do that next year: life in the last quarter of a century.  Who knows what that will be like when I look back in the future.