Sunday, April 5, 2009

The first day of school

Today I officially started my grad school program. It is kind of weird because this particular class is every Sunday through May 6th. This is a pre-requisite to the rest of the program and since all other classes are on Saturdays the administration thought a Sunday class would make the most sense.

As I prepared to leave for class I wondered what kind of people would be there. Would they be professionals or would they be young "kids" fresh out of college? I wanted to look somewhat professional so I opted NOT to wear my sweats,(The class goes from 8:30am to 2:30pm) and made sure that I got up a little early to do my hair and makeup.(1st impressions you know) With my book bag once again in hand, I took a deep breath and headed off to school. I will admit that I felt a little relieved when I walked in to find that the majority of the students were "seasoned" professionals. The old school 3-ring binder that I brought with me to take notes fit right in.

I was feeling alright for the first few minutes, and then... the introductions started. My introduction came towards the end, (I tend to be a middle, to back of the room kind of student)and I was feeling incredibly inadequate. As each person listed their credentials and multiple degrees, my mind wandered to the scene in "Legally Blond" where Elle meets her fellow law students and her intro was all about how she stopped Cameron Diaz from buying a truly heinous orange outfit. I racked my brain for an interesting intro that would validate my acceptance to the program. I have to say that what I lack in experience, I definitely make up for in my desire and passion to make the school systems better. Despite that, I felt like I held my own but went on my first break texting Jeff about how intimidated I was feeling. I honestly was beginning to wonder if I was WAAAY out of my league.

My instinct to run out of the school and never look back was hindered by the fact that I left my books and computer in the classroom. Curses! I walked back into the room with my head held much higher than I felt and reclaimed my seat next to the overachievers, (do these people believe in having a personal life?). The professor, (who is the program administrator by the way) went through the syllabi's and by the time we were done with that I was starting to feel more confident about my ability to succeed in the program. We were placed into groups shortly after the expectations were hashed out and quickly found that the students are all really nice and non-judgemental. We were given questions regarding counseling that we needed to answer and I actually felt that I could give intelligent answers that were appropriate to the subject, despite my lack of experience in a school setting. (Jeanna, I even used your Reality Town experience as an example, thanks)

Though my day started off really shaky, it ended with a renewed faith in my latest endeavor. I feel like I will do well in this program and ultimately be able to help kids succeed in their lives. I met some really nice people that are respectful of the others ideas in the class. (What else would you expect in a room full of would be counselors?) I am sure that I will have more moments of feeling inadequate, but hey, that's what friends are for; reminding you that those feelings will pass. I will thank you all now in advance.

6 comments:

Jeff said...

See, you're going to be just fine. And look Elle Woods graduated near the top of her class and was very popular. You'll be fine. Me, on the other hand....

mooney said...

You will figure it out; look at how long it took me to get to this point.
Thanks for being my voice of reason and such a big support.

Jeanna said...

Hey Miss Dawn! Congrats on making it through your first day. The nerves always make it worse than it needs to be.

There is actually a website about Reality Town, http://www.realitytown.com/.

I totally understand feeling overwhelmed. For some reason I just feel like I can never measure up. But, they accepted you into the program for a good reason. Maybe you don't have a ton of credentials, but a serious passion
goes a long, long way. Now dig in and get to your homework! :)

the baker said...

Happy first day of school!! How exciting!! What classes are you taking?

mooney said...

Thanks for the web site info. The class I am taking is Intro to Very exciting!

Anonymous said...

Kudos for surviving day one. I agree with Jeff about Elle. I say rock it ala Miss Woods because I bet your life experiences will provide a unique/valuable perspective that one no else in the program will have.

Ok I'm done with my "Rah,Rah, Dawn!" cheer.

:) llp