Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Dis-orientaton

"Hi, my name is Shelly and I'm a freshman from Streetor, Illinois."

"Hi, my name is Britney and I'm a freshman, too, from Springfield."

The room is filled with girls in their late teens wearing make-up that says "I'm trying to look older," but doing just the opposite. I feel nostalgia for the person I was at their age: determined, dedicated, but ambivalent.

I have more in common with my professors than my classmates. I won't be partaking in the campus-wide water fight later on this evening. A course syllabus rests on my nightstand. I don't want to be twenty again. Couldn't be. It's strange to be wading the same waters, revisiting the eddies of adolescence, if only from the water's edge.

Tomorrow I will attend my first classes and step out into the fray. Let's hope I can keep my head above water and my feet on the ground.

5 comments:

  1. "It's strange to be wading the same waters, revisiting the eddies of adolescence, if only from the water's edge." WOW, I love that sentence, you should patent it.

    I think I'm going to enjoy your experience going back to school for all the fodder it will produce. Keep your sense of humour, your sense of observation and keep us informed and entertained!
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is great, Melissa. Brings back memories (for a lot of us I am sure). You'll do well, no doubt, and have lots of interesting experiences to share.

    And, as a bonus, your new classmates will not only be young friends . . . they are all potential baby-sitters!

    John
    http://mannerofspeaking.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes - babysitting on tap!! Hurrah

    ReplyDelete
  4. When i returned at 27 I discovered mother and daughter combinations in class. The older students did better than their kids. And the mix of ages was wonderful. You'll be bringing something to them. Instead of an international mix like Geneva you'll have a generational one...can't help but help you with Emma and the Mouse later on.

    ReplyDelete