Our entire lives apart from our families there has been another important spot in our lives’ that has been annually and then semiannually replaced and replenished. Are you wondering what person I’m speaking of? Your teachers and professors! Yes, the good, bad, nice, mean, ugly, and charming. Think about it, most of your exposure to the world has come through the means of being in a building surrounded by others like you for 7-8 hours a day for most of your formative life and, while those numbers might have overall decreased, you still have that deep exposure. But, we’re not the only ones, most people you interact with or know about have had at the very least 1 teacher in their lives, your family, friends, celebrities and strangers.
So, clearly teachers are not given nearly as much credit or significance as they are due. Among many tasks teachers are given to teach us are kindness, responsibility, time management, and even about finding ourselves. Personally, I know most of how I have viewed the world has correlated with the way my teachers and professors have presented topics, their positions on issues, and even their mannerisms and backgrounds. While experiences with your teachers and professors are varied across the board the influence of one can be enough to motivate and inspire you. Pre-college, your classes maxed out at 20, maybe 30 students, and your teachers spent practically a whole year with you and knew you, but, in college, you may be a face amongst 300 students, so the experience is different. In a place as diverse and massive as Rutgers, take advantage of the professors you have, go to office hours, and try to make connection. Professors are some of the best resources available to you, you just have to make that extra step.