The Epic Scholastic Book Fair
Laura Lee - May 4, 2018

Changes

By Greta Zwaan

I sought for joy in peace, and rest to ease my weary mind,
Stressed out by such a heavy load, rest I just had to find.
My endurance could hold no more, my limits had been met,
I needed time to stand aside, sweet time to just forget.

But where to find the road to peace, an obscure trait to me;
My hectic lifestyle can't comprehend a way to set time free.
I've always rushed from A to B with no side glace allowed,
I had my life so well controlled; in truth, I felt quite proud.

No one could tell me what to do, I was a self-made man;
My schedules were controlled by me, I had a thorough plan.
'Twas good when all things went my way and no one interfered;
I had no one to answer to, my way was always cleared.

But years of this brought me no joy, though fortunes I'd amassed;
It seemed that all the things I owned would oh, so soon be past.
I had no friends that knew my plight, I kept myself at bay,
They all had troubles of their own; besides, what could they say?

They envied me with all my wealth, they never saw my pain,
I had life altogether, what more was there to gain?
But loneliness is terrible and emptiness is sad,
There seems no purpose for each day, no reason to be glad.

So now I wait; why? I don't know, but life for me must change.
There must be more than fortunes, a way to rearrange.
There has to be a purpose, and someone surely knows,
Why life is complicated, and days so full of woes.

Perhaps you have the answer, perhaps you know the route,
Perhaps you've traveled here before; if so, please help me out.
If need be, I'll be patient, I'll even take advice;
I'll gladly make the changes, no matter what the price.

I don't need independence, I've had my round of that;
I long for understanding, to know just where I'm at.
Someday I hope to thank you because you saw my need,
Perhaps with greater meaning, with purpose, not with greed.

I don't know how I got here, what lies ahead of me,
I'm grateful there'll be changes, I'm grateful to be free.

Going to school five days a week was like having a full time, 40 hour a week job. To make matters even worse, we never even got paid for our time. We just had sit there and learn. Ugh. Then we would get homework to do in our free time, have to write book reports, and study for tests.

Thankfully, there was one place that allowed us to feel at peace, and that was the Scholastic Book Fair. Our schools would annually indulge us in bringing the books of our dreams to our classrooms.  Not only could we check before ourselves how we felt about the books, but there was only the exciting pencils, erasers and glorious bookmarks.

Just the smell itself of those new books was unbeatable. The only thing better than one new book is an entire room full of new new books. Everything was so organized and fresh, and it was incredibly satisfying to flip through all the stacks of books.  Every pile was like a mountain of treasures.

The fair had something for everyone, whether it be poems, nonsensical stories, spooky stories or classic favorites.  Even if we didn’t have enough birthday money saved up for some books, the extras were always just as exciting.

And how could we forget the posters? They were surely a pain to carry all the way back home, but a book fair poster was basically a right of passage, and was an thrilling challenge to keep it from getting crumpled throughout the day.

The Scholastic Book Fair will forever and always be one of the greatest experience of elementary school. Agreed?