It's my first day of college! As my heart pounds and my palms sweat, I try to blend in, not to look like the typical gawking freshmen. My brand new backpack cuts into my shoulders as I hustle up the hill to my first class of my very first day at the University.
As a student in Psychology 101, I expected to be one of 100 or more and am not disappointed. The bell rings just as I breeze through the front door of the building, relieved to find the lecture-hall directly in front of me. I try to slip through the door quietly, but forget my keys are hanging off my backpack...they make a quiet "chink" as they hit the door.
The professor glances up to the back of the room where I stand, looking for a seat. He gives me a warm, reassuring smile, and I notice his twinkling blue eyes, broad shoulders, and slender waist. I thank the powers-that-be for a professor that's easy on the eyes, I know from high school how much easier it is to stay awake when I've got a reason. Coming back to reality, I relax and slip into a seat in the back row.
I gently set my backpack on the floor next to me as the teaching assistant walks from her place in the back of the room to hand me a syllabus.
The professor introduces himself as " Walker," explaining this is only his second year teaching and that he isn't yet used to being called "Dr. Walker." He grins infectiously as he says it, and you involuntarily smile back.
"Please just call me !" he suggests, crossing his arms and leaning back against the blackboard.
I squirm in my seat, wondering if referring to one's instructors by their first name is something I'll have to get used to, now that I'm in college. Why not? I ask myself rhetorically, I'm 18 years old, I'm an adult, and adults call each other by their first names all the time! Decision made, I skim over the syllabus, relieved to see only one textbook is necessary and that the longest paper is 3 pages.
This class will be okay, I tell myself. I know I can do this!
By now, the professor has gone through the basic information on the syllabus, and is wrapping up the first class by telling us about his office hours, during which he invites us all to visit.
"My office is 976 Psychology Hall, and you can see me between 1 and 4 Monday and Wednesday!"
I resist the urge to cheer as the bell rings and I get up, my position in the back row allowing me to get out the lecture-hall door ahead of the crowd. |