tabula rasa

/ˌˈtɑbʊlə ˌrɑzə/

Use the noun tabula rasa to describe the chance to start fresh, like when a student's family moves and she gets to begin the year at a brand new school with a completely blank slate.

An opportunity to begin again with no record, history, or preconceived ideas is one kind of tabula rasa. Architects use the term to describe the place where a torn-down building once stood, which they now see as an opportunity to start over with a new, better, structure. The Latin literally means "scraped tablet," sort of an old-fashioned Etch A Sketch ready to be drawn on.

Definitions of tabula rasa

1. noun

   an opportunity to start over without prejudice
   synonyms: clean slate, fresh start

   type of:

   chance, opportunity

   a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
2. noun

   a young mind not yet affected by experience (according to John Locke)
   type of:

   brain, head, mind, nous, psyche

   that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason