It’s that time of the year again for students to return to their dorms, mop the beer off the floor, and open the brand new $200 textbook that they are only going to need for that one diagram on page 76. That’s right, it's syllabus week, and although for some colleges it may mean drinking until 3:30 in the morning and reminiscing with friends, for Geneseo students it’s a bit different. Some may say that syllabus week does not even exist at Geneseo.
Break was not long enough.
The break was way too short and all of your other friends don't go back to college until next week, not to mention they finish a week before us.
The excitement.
You get to see your Geneseo friends again and catch up. It's a new semester and you tell yourself you are finally going to be super organized, never miss a class and finally get that 4.0.
The hills.
Oh, the dreaded hills. You're out of breath as you arrive to your first class. You probably should have worked out a little more over break, oh well. Who decided it would be a good idea to put this campus on a hill anyway? Hopefully, they put enough salt down so you don't slip; watch out for those metal grates!
The brutal chill.
You ask yourself, Why do I go to a school where the air hurts my face? It's time to bundle up because although we may not have a lot of snow, the wind is unbearable.
Scan the room.
You walk into your class. You hope you are in the right room. You scan the room for any familiar faces that you could maybe suffer through the class with.
Pick your seat.
This is an important decision at Geneseo. Once you pick a spot you better be willing to sit there for the rest of the semester. Geneseo students take their seats seriously. Should you sit toward the front or the back? Choose wisely.
The professor speaks.
Should you be writing this down? Hopefully, he just talks about the syllabus for 10 minutes and lets us leave early. OK, he went over the syllabus, can we leave? And now the slide says Chapter 1.
Your mind wanders.
How are you supposed to focus for this long after a break? This guy is so boring. Your eyes begin to close, but you cannot fall asleep on the first day, you have to get that 4.0. You begin to look at the syllabus again. A quiz almost every day, six tests, and three papers? When is the last day to drop a class again?
Required books.
Speaking of the syllabus, you look at the required section. Seven books, one with an access code, and an iPad. Oh, OK, let me check my funds. You do your research to find the cheapest books possible.
Caffeine.
You need caffeine and you need it immediately. You wait in the ridiculously long line at Starbucks in hopes of waking up before you go to your next class. Why did you think taking four back to back hour and 15 minute classes was going to be OK?
You did it!
You made it through your first day of classes. None of your professors let you out early, and you already have filled up half your notebook. You begin your journey from the academic buildings back to your room and on your journey you see many poor souls studying and doing work already. Good for them -- but all you can think about is your bed.
Nap time.
You feel stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted after your first day of classes. What better way to temporarily fix all of that than to take a nap!
Time for food.
You gather up your friends and head to the dining hall. You sure didn't miss the food here, not to mention the feelings it will give you after you eat it. You miss home-cooked meals already.
Call home.
You already miss your family, especially your pets. You call home and tell them how your day went and complain about all the work you have this semester. You listen to them tell you that you can do it!