Remember how in high school, we always heard the horror stories of how professors were so mean and could not care less about college students? There was always talk about how professors would never see you as an equal or care about your success in the class. Well those stories were false. Okay, maybe some professors don’t care about students, but many professors actually do.
Coming into college, I was so nervous that professors would be the mean kind portrayed on TV. I was worried they wouldn’t try to be helpful if I had a problem and that I would end up hating all of my classes because the professors didn’t care about the students or their feelings. I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
My first few classes on campus were uneventful. I was always quiet in class, only talking when I needed to. Professors were equally neutral. They were kind, but not necessarily friendly. They asked questions and encouraged talking. All around, students were just as quiet but as time went on, we all began to warm up to each other.
Soon enough, I slowly began to talk more in class and the professors started to know my name. I wasn’t just the “girl with the glasses sticker on her laptop” anymore. I had a name. One class in particular, the whole class began to feel a close, personal connection with the professor. We would always take the first few minutes of class to update him on anything new happening in our lives. He told us about his daughter and how his life was going. We were easily becoming fast friends.
It turns out college wasn’t as scary as I thought and that most professors are human too. They have lives that they love to talk about, and they want to get to know us just as well. As registration comes up, I just want to remind you that classes will go a lot better when you are friends with your professors. Take time out and ask them about their day and you just might be surprised by the way the semester goes!