The First Day
I remember my first day of college very clearly. I'll bet almost everyone does.
Mine took place on a Monday. I had an 8:00 a.m. class, to which I arrived absurdly early, just in case. When I saw that the room was empty, I was mortified. I didn't want to be branded on the first day as "that weird guy who shows up super early." I felt like my whole college identity was at stake. So I rushed back out and, trying not to be obvious about it, watched until enough others had gone in that I felt safe returning to the room.
I had never been in a classroom with so many seats. I carefully chose one neither in the front row nor the back, neither far to the left nor far to the right. I hoped the professor wouldn't notice me, much less call on me.
I was scared to death. I felt like I had earned my college admission, but I had no data on which to base any assumption about my prospects for success. Throughout that anxious day, I couldn't help but assume that every single thing I was seeing for the first time was normal, and a sure indication of "what college is going to be like."
In hindsight, I know that almost nothing about that first day was "normal," especially that feeling of anxiety. I didn't know that it was perfectly OK to be the first to arrive for a class. I didn't pick up on the fact that everyone around me was at least a little nervous too.
What I also didn't know was that a person who would become a close friend was sitting two rows ahead of me. That together we would join the student government, and make our campus a home, as familiar and comfortable as any community we had ever known. That in the next four years I would make friends and have experiences that would help me discover and define myself. And that before I graduated, I would make meaningful contributions to that institution and help to shape its future.
We all have first days, and I hope yours is a good one. But what really counts are the years, the ones you have in front of you now, in which you will grow and thrive and make UMBC yours. What you're going to discover is that UMBC is not a collection of buildings and classes, but a confluence of stories, including, now, your own. That we can be true to ourselves with each other, and value the differences that make each of us unique. That we are a community of ground breakers and difference-makers, empowering each other to use our talents for the common good.
I'm glad you're here, and I look forward to all that we're going to do together.
--David Hoffman
P.S.--Anyone else have a "first day of college story" you'd like to share? Please do so in a comment.
Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter.
Mine took place on a Monday. I had an 8:00 a.m. class, to which I arrived absurdly early, just in case. When I saw that the room was empty, I was mortified. I didn't want to be branded on the first day as "that weird guy who shows up super early." I felt like my whole college identity was at stake. So I rushed back out and, trying not to be obvious about it, watched until enough others had gone in that I felt safe returning to the room.
I had never been in a classroom with so many seats. I carefully chose one neither in the front row nor the back, neither far to the left nor far to the right. I hoped the professor wouldn't notice me, much less call on me.
I was scared to death. I felt like I had earned my college admission, but I had no data on which to base any assumption about my prospects for success. Throughout that anxious day, I couldn't help but assume that every single thing I was seeing for the first time was normal, and a sure indication of "what college is going to be like."
In hindsight, I know that almost nothing about that first day was "normal," especially that feeling of anxiety. I didn't know that it was perfectly OK to be the first to arrive for a class. I didn't pick up on the fact that everyone around me was at least a little nervous too.
What I also didn't know was that a person who would become a close friend was sitting two rows ahead of me. That together we would join the student government, and make our campus a home, as familiar and comfortable as any community we had ever known. That in the next four years I would make friends and have experiences that would help me discover and define myself. And that before I graduated, I would make meaningful contributions to that institution and help to shape its future.
We all have first days, and I hope yours is a good one. But what really counts are the years, the ones you have in front of you now, in which you will grow and thrive and make UMBC yours. What you're going to discover is that UMBC is not a collection of buildings and classes, but a confluence of stories, including, now, your own. That we can be true to ourselves with each other, and value the differences that make each of us unique. That we are a community of ground breakers and difference-makers, empowering each other to use our talents for the common good.
I'm glad you're here, and I look forward to all that we're going to do together.
--David Hoffman
P.S.--Anyone else have a "first day of college story" you'd like to share? Please do so in a comment.
Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter.
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Posted: August 28, 2012, 7:45 AM