Day 1

Today the fall semester begins. So many others are still smack dab in the middle of summer, but we have jumped into fall. Every semester has its own flavor, its own pace. This year we are prepared for the usual meltdowns that freshmen sometimes experience when they don't quite have things figured out yet and suddenly dysfunctionality overwhelms them.

We get the testy pushy verbiage, the tears, the worries, the frantic questions. And we are prepared to provide the quick answer, the reassuring connection, the confident calling around to find out. Without reacting emotionally. We know that after the first two weeks, everyone calms down, learns the ropes, settles in.

This year is different. We do not have any meltdowns to soothe. There is a very fast pace and lots of demands at the desk, but students are not flustered, not adrift, not cranky. This year's crop seems more mature, ready to deal with these adjustments, calmer about connecting, safe in knowing that if they miss a deadline, there will be grace. And there will.

Already at the desk research questions are coming. Rather than an empty building for most of the morning, we are populated and not just with socializers. Real studying. How great is that? I look across the Info Commons, and instead of tons of facebook and yahoo mail and games, I see Word documents and database searches. A dream come true.

There is still activity by late evening, but not like previous years when students waited to begin until 9 or 10 pm. I like the way this semester is shaping up already. On the first day of creation, God said let there be light. On the first day of the semester, I am delighted to see learning. May it be filled with light.