The Eyes Really Do Have It

August 18, 2010

On this first day of school, I awaken thinking about eyes. Ever since going to Italy last fall, my thoughts occasionally turn to the realization that, while it looks like we only have one set of eyes, we actually have two. It was in Italy where I repeatedly lived through my first eyes, those eyes that see and experience things for the first time. These eyes are the amped-up, overly emotional cousins of their more droll relatives, second eyes.

No one could possibly live with just first eyes. We’d self-immolate, I think, unable to take in all the rawness of the world. But no one should overlook the importance these eyes play in our lives.

This morning, 35,000 young folks in Lincoln awoke with first eyes. For some, these first eyes will take in not only a new school year, but also a new school and new peers, as well. Such is the case for Allison, who begins her high-school career (one I hope will span only four years) at Lincoln High. Brother Eric, now a senior, has the advantage of familiarity, yet he, too, cannot avoid seeing with these first eyes in the coming days.

Even their crusty old teachers, muttering and tired, will come to school armed with these first eyes, as well. And I think it’s vital to remember the role these first eyes will play in everyone’s lives this week. How can I help but to be patient with the modern teenaged wanderer, staring blankly at a class schedule that says she has two minutes to find Room 203, wherever that is. Great heaps of human emotion are on display this week, peaking during those passing periods between classes, when young people try to act cool while feeling the utter despair of being lost.

That is why I will come to school today with both sets of eyes, my first set ready to relish the excitement and giddiness of something new, and the second set, confident in experience, ready to steady the newcomer who happened to leave his second set on the dresser at home.