It’s two weeks into the semester, and you decide to mix it up a little in your University 200 class by sitting in the seat next to the one in which you usually sit.
You say to yourself, “There are no assigned seats in college. Nobody will even notice.”
This is not always the case.
Each student has unofficially drawn claim to a seat to which he or she has dedicated his or her backside for the past eight weeks. You have consciously made the decision to displace every student in the class from his or her “usual” seat.
By acquainting yourself with this new seat, the former “owner” of said seat between the times of noon and 12:50 p.m. must now become acquainted with a different seat, and the owner of that seat must become acquainted with a different seat — and the vicious domino effect of seat thievery continues until every student is now sitting in an unfamiliar seat three rows from the usual seat.
Why is it so important to be able to rest your rear in the same location for an entire semester?
Most of us grew up with assigned seats. Throughout grade school, we were given the stability of one chair, one designated place to call our own and build a sense of contentment. By rendering someone’s seat as your own, you have robbed them of that stability, that one constant in his or her ever uncertain collegiate journey.
A year ago, I was texting as I walked into my biology lecture. I arrived at my seat which, for the purpose of conveying a point, I named Jessabelle. I placed my things on the floor and prepared my bum for a nice spooning sesh with Jessabelle. As I looked up from my phone, I realized I was about to sit in someone’s lap. Instantly, I was concerned; I asked myself a few questions.
Should I make a scene and demand she cease contact with my loveseat?
Should I just find another seat?
Will Jessabelle miss me?
I introduced myself to the chair next to me but received a little pushback. I sat uncomfortably realizing I would be disrupting the relationship between this chair and its usual “sitter.” The bad juju now in the air simply did not make for a conducive learning environment.
The first two weeks of class are crucial; it’s the time to choose your seat carefully and with intent to build not just a physical connection but an innately spiritual one as well, a connection based on the sacred rules of Mrs. Smith’s Kindergarten class.