It’s an old familiar feeling at this point, and one that never gets old. The new school year is here. Fresh possibilities, fresh fall air, and fresh … men? “First year” students we call them now and that really is a much better term. Do you still remember that fear and excitement of being in college for the first time?
My first year, I remember, I was a sitting in my dorm room with my roommate (soon to become best friend in the whole world) and there was a knock at the door. Neither of us were expecting anybody and it was the evening before classes were to begin. Opening the door, I saw a familiar face. It was a young girl that had graduated in my high school class, attended my church, but I still did not know very well, or, at least not well enough that she should be knocking on my dorm room door.
“Hey,” I said, “How are you?” And she burst into tears. “I’m so scared,” she said.
We invited her in and helped her calm down. I think we made her a PBandJ, but I really don’t remember. We watched some television and talked until she was finally ready to head back to her own dorm. We became friends after that, even though we barely spoke a word to each other in high school. College is fantastic that way.
I must say, I never caught the fear. College was always exciting to me, and I couldn’t wait to be on my own and learning things I wanted to learn and charting my own course. My first two years, my transfer years, and heading out to graduate school – they all gave me such a thrill. But I suppose fear and thrill are often confused since they come from the same part of the brain and often feel the same in the body. The only difference is how you frame the moment in your own mind.
And so, cheers to this new school year and all the thrills and fears and tears and laughs it will undoubtedly bring.