Monthly Archives: September 2009

First-day Jitters

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The first day of school always makes me a little nervous.  It’s a good nervousness, though, the kind that’s mixed with the excitement of possibility.  In less than an hour, I’ll be in front of the first class of the new school year–class of freshmen, nonetheless–so the nerves for that class are extra jittery.  I’m not quite as nervous as I was last year, probably because it’s not the first day of my first year as a professor.  But I liken this nervousness to the feeling one gets right before going on stage to perform or before going out onto the field to play a big game.  I get these nerves just about every day that I teach, but it’s especially pronounced on the first day of school.  The slate is clean (on both sides of the desk), there’s new blood in the building, and the school year is rife with opportunity and untapped potential.  I know that once classes get rolling the nerves will fade away.  But I enjoy being nervous before school.  The way I see it, it means that I care.  Here’s to hoping I always have first-day jitters.

Baker’s Dozen

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Tomorrow begins another school year.  So, on the precipice of my second year as a full-time faculty member, and in honor of my move up to Lowell exactly 13 months ago today, I thought I’d pass along 13 lessons I’ve learned over the past year and one month.  In no particular order:

  1. BALANCE is key.
  2. Being a CUBS fan really really sucks a lot of the time.
  3. At school, my REPUTATION has started to precede me.  And I think that’s awesome.
  4. Politics exists EVERYWHERE.  And I think that sucks.
  5. I miss my FRIENDS.  That being said, two of my closest friends have moved up to Lowell, so I can’t complain too much at all.  It’s just that I also miss my other friends from Tallahassee and Chicago.  Badly.
  6. The way I see it, OREO is certifiably the gentlest, sweetest, cutest, most loving dog in the world.
  7. To quote The Fray, “Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the SAME.”
  8. I do what I LOVE.  And I love what I do.
  9. I miss the CITY, Chicago in particular.  I’m going to make it a point to get to know Boston.
  10. More and more I’m discovering that being spiritual and being religious are two very DIFFERENT things.
  11. The importance of a good TEACHER, at whatever level and in whatever subject, cannot be overstated.
  12. As much as I’d like to consider myself a moderate, I’m beginning to lean more and more to the LEFT.  Or perhaps it’s a reaction and I’m just leaning further and further away from the right.
  13. COMMUNICATION is key.