The beginning of the school year has a special kind of energy. The bulletin boards are bright. The name tags are ready. There’s coffee, donuts, and icebreakers. Everyone is smiling, greeting each other with “How was your summer?” as if we’ve all just returned from a relaxing vacation. The hallways hum with possibility, and there’s a buzz that only comes from the first day back.

But behind those back-to-school smiles? For many of us, there is something else. Something we don’t always say out loud.

A quiet desperation…

It’s not that we don’t love our jobs. It’s not that we’re not excited to meet our students or set up our classrooms just right. It’s the shift from summer to school is not as smooth or joyful as the slideshow music suggests. It’s jarring. It’s exhausting. And sometimes, it’s just too soon.

Because while the world celebrates the back-to-school season with fresh planners and colorful classrooms, many teachers are quietly thinking:

“I just needed two more weeks.”

Two more weeks to sleep past 6 a.m.

Two more weeks to sit outside with a book that has nothing to do with teaching.

Two more weeks without a meeting, a bell, or a to-do list that grows faster than it shrinks.

We show up. Of course, we do! We do the icebreakers. We decorate our rooms. We set goals and reset our calendars. We post pictures of our “teacher haul” and sharpen pencils with a smile. But part of us is still mourning the slow mornings, the lack of pressure, the rare feeling of being off.

And you know what?? That’s okay.

It’s okay to hold both.

It’s okay to be excited and exhausted.

Grateful and overwhelmed.

Hopeful and slightly heartbroken that the summer you needed more of is suddenly over.

So this year, let’s stop pretending that we’re all 100% ready. Let’s give ourselves permission to admit: this transition is hard. It’s okay to need time. It’s okay to feel the weight of the year before you even open your classroom door.

And let’s remember: we are not alone in this.

The teacher next to you with the Pinterest-perfect classroom? They’re probably also wondering how to make it through the first week without crying in the car.

That friend who seems so on top of things? They might be running on caffeine and panic.

And you? You’re doing better than you think.

So as we step into this new school year, may we do so honestly. With grace. With realness. With compassion for ourselves and each other.

Because behind every, “I’m so excited!” might be a quiet “But I am also not ready.”

And both can be true.