Perspective

Whew! First day of school for fall 2009 is in the history books and I'm so relieved. I always get nervous the first day of semester about a myriad of things. First, will I have everything I need to have together for getting Jack to his first day in a new class, us to work, what I need for clients, class and training? Then, will this new class be likeable? Will they like me? Will we mesh?

And then a meeting with one of our new post-doc residents I'll be supervising put some things into perspective. She said that on the eve of beginning to be a supervisor for the first time, she was learning to give some grace to her former supervisors. Hopefully sharing this will be the same for my students. We walk into every situation in which we are learning hoping that our instructors will know everything about everything and be infallible. And if someone is infallible, they should have all the confidence in the world. Actually, ironically, it is closer to the paradox that the more you know, the more you know what you do not know. So when your instructor stands up on the first day/week, realize that she might be nervous about this whole thing too. Even after teaching 5 years/8 classes.

What did I expect from college when I went? I expected to be given the answers to many things. Really I was asked a lot of questions that people have researched for eons and still don't know answers to. I expected to make lifelong friends. Partially true. Through the magic of technology and Facebook, I've reconnected with friends from that era. I expected some independence. Got that in droves. Lots of possibilities that make for a lot of fear, anxiety and excitement.

What fears do you have in your first week here?