Google celebrated it. Children around the world celebrated it. Even the old men running CNN celebrated it. Did you celebrate it?

Does the name Jim Henson ring a bell? How about Children’s Television Workshop? Maybe Cookie Monster and The Grouch?

No, the last two names are not the nicknames of Loras professors (although sometimes they could be rather appropriate). All those names are associated with the children’s TV show, Sesame Street. Jim Henson is the creator, Children’s Television Workshop was the original producer and we all know who The Grouch and Cookie Monster are. For some of us, they were the ones who made us laugh. For others, they told us eating cookies like an animal is ok and sometimes, they were our snuggle buddies before we fell asleep.

On November 10, a TV show special to many of us celebrated its fortieth anniversary. This show is, obviously, Sesame Street. With the show’s neighborly atmosphere and memorable bright colors, it is not uncommon to get the theme song stuck in your head: “Sunny day, sweepin’ the, clouds away…”

Being older and living out in the “real world” can sometimes get to college students, especially ones that will soon be undergoing finals. Waking up, going to class, and going to bed can be a terrible routine if repeated for weeks on end. Sometimes we just need a little color in our lives.

Honestly, think to yourself. Did you even know Sesame Street was celebrating anything? Many of us saw that Google had Elmo and The Count posing with the normal, colorful, “Google” image. I didn’t think twice about it the first couple times.Then I got to thinking about it. I was just sitting in class, thinking about Elmo. I wondered why he was on the Google homepage. I hadn’t thought about Elmo for years! All of a sudden, I was flooded with memories of sitting in my red beanbag chair in front of the TV watching The Grouch popping out of his trash can and Bert and Ernie singing about a rubber ducky and fighting about bananas in their ears. It made class go a heck of a lot quicker, and I was positively happy afterwards.

The 40th anniversary of Sesame Street is a good way to connect with our past and be thankful for all the things that combined to make us who we are, especially our childhoods.

At the same time, Sesame Street is very unique. Both professors and students here at Loras can relate to Sesame Street. It is the longest running children’s show in the world and everyone knows it or has at least seen some of the characters. Also, many parents of students here at Loras must have popped a squat in front of the TV with a cookie and watched Big Bird just like we did. We all learned from Sesame Street! It is one of the only shows that college students and the older generation can both relate to.

So, whether you knew of Sesame Street’s anniversary is neither here nor there. It happened, and our lives moved on without a hiccup. The fact that all of us, students and teachers alike, learn best from bouncing, fuzzy puppets and bright colors makes all the difference.