First Day of Class

Now, granted, I’m a T.A., not a professor, not a student, but still I was going to class. True to form I worked on things right to the last minute, making my journey to campus and the GBB (pictured above) a frantic speed-walk with lunch in hand. But I looked sharp and was well prepared (to T.A., all you really need is a pen and willingness to jump and help, right?).

I arrived with 4 minutes to spare and surveyed the classroom. The course was supposed to have just 55 students, but I could see already that it had nearly 60, and more were pouring in. A moment later, much to my surprise and delight, Brittany, one of my students and the true lightning-rod of the Campus Sangha for the last two years, stepped in. A friendly face in a sea of students. A few minutes later Brad, our professor, entered, looking ever-so sharp and authoritative. The class went as the first of any in college typically does – syllabi were distributed, questions answered, and the next four months was mapped.

After class, under newly sunny skies, I couldn’t help but feel revived, re-invigorated, restored, and ready to rejoice in simply being back at UM. Walking home, across campus, I ran into several friends and professors, each with the collegial smile and optimism that comes with each new semester. As I crossed the “Oval” I couldn’t help but revel in the smell of the fresh-cut grass, the sounds of young students around me, and the unknown possibility for the future that all of this [the University, the students, myself] represents.

And home I went, smiling after our first day of class.