I start grad school in 2 weeks. Buying notebooks and emailing professors has been making me nostalgic for the last time I started school. Let me just say that I am taking this opportunity to redeem myself from all the mistakes I made 6 years ago when I started college.
I got into W&M in November 2002, leaving me the rest of my senior year to just sail (read "scoot") by. I whole-heartily threw myself into my tumultuous teen love-life, or at times, the tumultuous lack thereof. Summer blazed by in a hot fury, leaving me with dyed brown hair and 17 Forever21 miniskirts to help the make the transformation into College Ruthie.
Here is a list of simple oversights that Grad School Ruthie W. BA will not make in her 2nd chance at higher ed:
1) Get my Student ID made. I am convinced that I must have gone to Williamsburg at leas 5x (Busch Gardens, baby!) the summer before I started undergrad, and yet I never took a moment to get my ID made. I showed up at my dorm on move in day, late, terrified and got whisked away to 11 meetings before I had a chance to de-bunk my bed. Thank goodness the Jewel lived across the hall and helped me pick a sock drawer after my family surrendered me to life with Laurel. My Orientation Aides had to makes a special trip across campus to "help" my get my ID. All in all, Hudson Evans took a look at it and said I looked "face-heavy and wet".
2) Register for classes. Somehow I missed this one. Everyone else came to school with at least 3 classes on their sched. They also came boasting of all the credits they brought with them from high school. Nerds. Again my Orientation Aides had to sit me down and HELP me register. They asked me what I was interested in and I picked out a few obscure upper level closed courses. They looked at me like I had lost it. Supposedly everyone else at W&M was all hyped up on learning. I was just hoping to meet some boys (and sadly I quote) "that drape themselves in all denim and carry books around in their back pockets." To translate, I was coming off of watching 3 years of Gilmore Girls and hoping W&M was chalk full of this guy:
3) Read my syllabi. So... it took me at least 2 semesters to figure out the purpose of that sheet of paper that professors handed out on the first day of class. I remember being proud of myself for finally remembering to bring the book that "we" had been reading in class only to find that everyone else had moved on to some new book. And were already 1/2 done with it. Eventually, I leaned over to another girl and whispered, "How did everyone know what to read?" She looked at me puzzled and answered, "It was on the syllabus..." Oh that thing?
4) Study. Enough said.
So anyway, I busy myself at work these days by writing To Do Lists of things I "forgot" to take care of the first time around. All I can think is, geesh, its a good thing I wasn't paying for school then. I would never have known to put a check in the mail.
Any advice you have for me?
2 comments:
Yes, you were dishevled (and it wasn't the 100-degree weather) on Freshman Move-in Weekend. I was with you your first year, I wish I was alongside you again for this time around!!!!
I suppose, now that I'm about to get off this grad school train, I might have some advice. NOT! Oracles are overrated. Didn't Slevin put that in your syllabus?! Pssssssssssssssh.
I said to Travis the other night: remember when we would complain about "having to read." That's all we had to do. Show up for 12 - 16 hours, and read. Oh to be forced to read again...Enjoy!
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