Every school year, the first week of class is always full of syllabus talk and not much is done (unless you’re science major). Except something very important happens besides talking about the syllabus and how demanding the class is, something that will determine the tone in that class for the rest of the semester.

The freedom of choice for seats is something that we have and it is very powerful, depending on what class you’re in, it can determine how well you will do.

Any classes that you are taking for an easy A and you know that it is ridiculously easy, the back of the class is always a must since it secludes and gives you enough cover from the teacher to waste your time away watching Netflix while getting easy attendance points.

On the other hand, for the more competitive and challenging classes, towards the front is better since it engages you more and you will inherently pay more attention and absorb more information.

By now, as college students, we have seat selection in each of our classes down to a science and during the first week of class we begin to make our choices.

The initial seating may vary for the first few weeks as you begin to get use to your schedule. Getting to class late during those beginning days will just force you to sit wherever the last seat is open, and getting to class on time or early will assure your seat before someone else steals it.

After the first and second week, the seating arrangements have been established and people begin to sit in the same spot class after class. It has officially become their unassigned assigned seat.

The power of the unassigned assigned seat is of immense magnitude and not one to be fucked with.

I myself have had a share of unassigned assigned seats in the past, and I remember getting enraged whenever I would get to class and someone would sit in my unassigned assigned seat, it was just plain disrespectful.

One particular incident happened my first semester sophomore year. It was in my human genetics class, the class-size was small enough for a classroom so it was in a more personal setting compared to a lecture hall.

By the second week of class, everyone had established their seats and we lived in harmony. It was an unspoken rule that was followed so strictly that even if I was late to class and was the last one to arrive, my unassigned assigned seat would be wide open ready for my arrival.

So one day, I got to my class and we were all outside waiting for the previous class to filter out. Once the room was empty, we single-filed our way into the classroom and people began taking their respective seats.

As I got to my seat, I saw someone else’s coat and thermos on the desk. I was perplexed since this had not happened before, but I brushed it off and thought that someone from the previous class had left it there.

So I waited, and stood next to the desk for five minutes until the owner of the property came back and swiftly sat into the desk and continued on their phone as if nothing was wrong.

I looked around and was met by the gaze of those who sat around me, equally as disturbed as I was.

I continued to stand there with a look of bewilderment until the perpetrator looked up and said, “May I help you?”

The audacity.

I mustered up all my confidence and with a note of authority I replied, “I don’t want to sound like an asshole but you’re in my seat.” The room went completely silent, everyone stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on us.

The culprit looked at me with a face that read, “You can’t be serious.”

She looked around and saw that everyone was staring and her face got really red.

She took a deep breath, looked up at me and said, “My apologies, I didn’t know it was that serious.” The wrongdoer grabbed her belongings and sat in the only empty seat on the other side of the classroom.

I sat down and settled in. I greeted my neighbors with the usual headnod, which they reciprocated. All was well, equilibrium had been established once more.