There is no doubt about it, the first day of school is the absolute worst day of the year. Whether you are starting your first day of sixth grade or your first day of your senior year of college, the horror of it all is still the same.
First of all, it is HOT. Late August and early September is still summer, and that is made completely obvious by the sweat dripping from my brow and the puddle I leave behind me on the seat after class. You try making a new friend looking like a greased up tomato. It's hard!
And then there are the icebreakers. Teachers think it's a great way to get to know their students and for the students to get to know each other, but in reality coming up with a fast fact to tell 30 new people about yourself is stressful, and just adds to the previously mentioned sweat on my brow. Plus, when everyone around you seems to have done every thing cool thing out there, your fun fact might as well be that you are the most boring person in the room.
And at some point before or after those icebreakers are out of the way, you get to read the syllabus for the class. This is where you get slapped in the face with the fact that you will probably never not be doing homework again. How are you supposed to read three chapters by Tuesday, pick partners for your group project and study for that upcoming quiz? And that's just for one class! You still have four more to get to today that are likely to be the same things. If I did the math correctly, between all my classes, this year's professors are expecting me to do twenty nine hours of homework a day. Do you see the problem with that?
Also, the first day is the only day to pick your unassigned assigned seat. Should you sit by the window? The door? If you sit in the front, you'll have to answer all the questions but if you sit in the back it might look like you don't care. This seat choice is a commitment that you are making for at least a semester. And that is a long time if you accidentally pick a desk near someone terrible or if your desk only has three stable legs. And God help the person that tries to take this seat from you one day. Why didn't someone tell them the rules?
And the only way to find this seat of yours is for you to actually make sure you find the classroom on time. If you are in a new school or a new building this can be the most stressful part of the day. And wandering around with a map of your school or campus is just not the kind of first impression you want to make.
All of those things added together are sure to leave every student sleepless the night before and with a definite stomach ache the morning of.
But don't worry, one day down just means we are one day closer to it being summer break again. Right?
