A new year

Classes are back in session. We have a new crop of students. The vast majority of them seem so young. They all are so green like the grass that is finally coming back because we've had a few days of rain. The field I walk through no longer crunches under foot; nor does it look mostly yellow. And in an odd way the students are fresh and green, too.

Some of them walk through campus with a refreshing sense of hope and excitement. They are excited to be there and they are hoping that this moves them forward to a better future. The anticipation is palpable from these young people. I walk across the campus, and I can feel, actually feel this anticipation and excite. It's wonderful to feel this atmosphere. It reminds me of my first walk through a campus as a freshman. I was eager, excited and ready to learn.

All too soon these very same students will have experiences that define their time with us. Some of them will find their niche in this part of their life. They'll discover kindred spirits and learn that they weren't so odd after all. Others will find the process of learning a drudge. They'll think nothing has changed in their lives. Professors react to them the same way that high school teachers reacted to them. Classmates will react to them the same way as they did all through school. Never once will it occur to them that perhaps it is all in their perception and attitude that things remain the same. Still others will find that they are good students and can excel beyond their imagination. These are the folks that will go far in their lives because they know what it is like to work hard to get what you want. Hard work doesn't phase them. By Spring semester we just may get some of those brightly burning stars from the previous high school year that went to large universities. They got to these institutions with fantastic reputations only to learn that professors there don't hold their hands and stroke their egos. They discover that they are one of many fish and are no longer the big fish. They can't cope with the anonymity. They come to us seeking the caring hand of a compassionate professor. They'll usually find it. Eventually their immaturity passes, and they are able to cope without the ego massages.

Yes, it's a new academic year. It is so fresh. I love this time. A time of possibilities. A time of hope.