So I just finished my first week of classes today and it definitely went much better than I expected. Going into it, I was super anxious and nervous cuz it's a pretty big change...I haven't been in school in like 2 years so to just suddenly jump back in was definitely scary lol. Everything from commuting, to the early classes, to having to do readings...I was not excited whatsoever. So this week was mostly introductory stuff, course outlines, getting to know the prof and vice versa...but it eased my mind in a lot of aspects, hearing about what the courses are about, who the profs are and what they expect from us. For one, college is significantly different than university...everything from the work, to the expectations, all the way down to the fact that the profs genuinely care for you and want you to succeed...not saying that that doesn't happen in university...maybe it's the fact that the classes in college are so much smaller that you really feel it more and you feel more of a person than just a number. So anyways...I was dreading this morning's class the most this whole week because it started at 8 am, meaning I'd have to catch the bus at like 6:30 and all of that just sounded terrible lol. But it turns out that my 8 am class is probably the most interesting class out of the 5 courses that I'm taking and even tho it was 8 am, I felt super wide awake and focused because the content was so interesting, the prof was super nice and engaging and the material felt super relatable. The course is called Interpersonal Communication and it's pretty much how people communicate with each other in different and unique ways and the factors that go into it. It's just funny thinking about how much I was dreading this class and it turned out to be the most interesting one. But isn't that how a lot of things are...especially things that are new, things we haven't done in a while and things that make us feel uncomfortable. It's scary at first, but once you get into the swing of it...it becomes normal. That's exactly what my friend said too...he's like once you start school and get back into the swing of things, it'll come natural. I think back to when I first started working at my current job, the first month of training...heck the first week...I wanted to quit every single day...getting up at 5 am, doing tedious work...but now here I am over a year later with the same company...that discomfort eventually become comfort, it became the norm. I was never really a good at communicating with people verbally, I still don't think I'm great at it but I've made vast improvemnts. I'll never forget standing across from my cousin on a train and looking at her feet while she was talking to me and she goes hey...my eyes are up here...you always wanna be looking at someone when you're talking to them, ever since then I always made a conscious effort to maintain good eye contact...it lets people know you're listening to them and you're engaged. I mean you can be looking at the floor and still listening to them, but your body language communicates that you're not really interested and your attention is somewhere else (learned that from class today lol). I just think about how uncomfortable and just bad I was at talking to people, but I think I've gotten pretty decent at it...which kinda aligns with why I decided to go into social work. I've been told I'm a good listener and that I sometimes give good advice, so just going along with my strengths and what I think I'm good at...I figured this would be a good path for me. I just wanted to end off with this...I was thinking back to my time as a TA with my old teacher, I admired and always longed for the relational aspect that came with teaching...what he had developed with me...I wanted that with other students, which is what pushed me into teaching in the first place...but the more I thought about it, if that's what I want, I can find that in many different careers and pathways, not just teaching, which again...is what brought me to where I am today. But man did I have some good times as a TA. I did it for about 2 years and my teacher would be like Rodmond, when you first started, I could tell you were really shy, uncomfortable and trying to find your footing, but I've really seen you mature, become your own man and find your own style and what works for you. It's super dope to notice change is yourself, but it's even cooler when other people notice the changes and growth in your that you're not too sure about. I was looking at some old messages between my teacher and I and I found this and it really made me happy lol, I'll leave y'all with that.
PS...sorry that this post is all over the place and that it doesn't even really reflect the title that well, but I tried lol, it's more like a jumble of random thoughts and things that've been going on this past week...sorry, my brain is just crammed with stuff right now and I'm just throwing it all at y'all...I apologize...till next time...peace.
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