Welcome back Black Bears!
After a long summer, a whirlwind syllabus week, and the necessary long weekend that Labor Day has blessed us with, the fall semester finally feels officially started.
This year, instead of being the new, nervous freshman, I came back to school as the seasoned, habitual senior. One would think that a senior would feel prepared and confident upon returning for a semester of classes, exams, and pre-graduation stress. One would think that all those walking around the campus for the last year would have a leg-up on freshmen.
We do. Kind of. That being said, there are a few commonalities between the first and last years of college that make college seniors feel more like freshmen than they have since, well, the first year.
1. Where are your classes?
Something that seniors and freshmen have in common is Gen Eds. Yes, the reasons for taking these classes differ. The incoming student usually takes gen-eds first semester because they were placed in these classes to get those pesky 101 classes out of the way, while seniors are taking these classes because they cannot be put off any longer (yes, you really need a math class to graduate), or they have some free time in their schedule finally (hey, why not take a dance class?). Regardless, freshmen and seniors may have more classes in common than one would think.
2. Expanding the social circle
One of the best times in college is first semester of the first year. No other time in life are a bunch of people, with similar ages and interests (high education) thrown into close living situations with complete strangers and told to “make friends”. Seniors however, while having close friends within their own class, have lost a few friends that have graduated and moved on to that scary real life thing. The shyness of the first three years is gone, and seniors generally meet just as many people as they did the first year now that they’re used to the initial “What’s your name? How was your summer?” conversation.
3. What are you plans after college?
In four years of college the times that this question is asked the most is the very beginning of the first year and the beginning of the last. When we start college for some reason people assume everyone picks a major, and that there is a set-in-stone projected plan for the next four years. This never happens, and if it does, hats-off to those that achieve this. As fourth-years, it’s generally assumed that we have figured something out in the time spent here at UMaine, and have some general idea of what we are doing when graduation rolls around in eight months. (Yeah, right.)
4. Nerves
A direct correlation with this future chit-chat are the nerves that come along with it. No matter who a person is, the future is a scary place sometimes. Freshmen and seniors share the same kind of anxiety at thoughts of the future. While freshmen are just leaving the comforts of home and are nervous about the college experience, seniors are also leaving the comforts that UMaine has provided them for the last three years and are nervous for whatever comes next.
5. Preparedness
Remember prior to starting the first semester of college how prepared everyone was? Pre-ordering books, memorizing the class schedule, buying dorm decorations-anything to make the transition into this stage of life that much easier. Then remember the second-year when we didn’t buy books until after syllabus week and we forgot what classes we signed up for the semester prior? Finally, when the fourth-year rolls around we have recovered that preparedness that we lost the last few years. While it may not be the first day of school with every pencil sharpened preparedness, we are still ready enough to jump back into the routine of studying, socializing and never having time to sleep.
Whether or not someone is a freshman or a senior, the beginning of the semester is a great time. The weather is still nice, campus looks beautiful and while we are reunited or introduced to multiple responsibilities and schoolwork, we are reunited and introduced to some fantastic people we wouldn’t meet if not for attending the same school.
Again, welcome back Black Bears and happy fall semester!