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Anthony Collins
Professor Sylvia Bey
English 1101
August 29, 2014
My First day returning to College
My first day returning to college was very stressful. I awoke early that Thursday
morning. I knew that today was going to be a day to remember so I allowed myself plenty of
time to get ready and arrive early to class. The night before I had packed my bag with books
and the usual school supplies. After taking a shower and picking out my outfit from the
selection of new clothes I had bought the week before, I jumped into my car and head up the
highway. I live in Toccoa so it is a thirty minute drive to reach the Clarkesville campus. My drive
was uneventful. I got out of my car and headed to classroom 215. As I approached the door to
room 215 I realized I was twenty minutes early so I peaked inside to see if anyone else was in
the room. To my surprise several students had arrived before me and had already taken a seat
so I entered the room and took a seat at the front of the class. I had read once that the closer
you sit to the teacher the better you learn. I had a feeling I need to be as close as possible
because, even though I have always exceled at math I had not taken a college level course in
over 5 years and I had a feeling Pre-Calculus was not going to be easy.
After about fifteen minutes the instructor arrived. I was very nervous to say the least. As
she did role call my hands were soaked with sweat. I wondered to myself, Why am I so
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nervous? After taking attendance the instructor handed out the class syllabus and a calendar.
As I looked over the calendar I thought this doesnt seem so bad. She went on to explain how
the homework and quizzes were not due until the day of the test. This put my mind at ease
because I knew that I need to do some refreshing before I attempted the homework and
quizzes. Listening to the instructor explain her expectations gave me confidence that I could
tackle this course.
Then the unthinkable happened. The instructor put six math problems on the board and
said If you cant do these problems then you are probably in the wrong class. My heart sunk.
As I looked at the board I realized that I did not remember how to do any of these problems.
How could this be? It had been five years since I had taken College Algebra but I should
remember some of this. I stared at the board for what seemed like an eternity. I was awoken
form my dismay by the sound of the instructors voice insisting that we work together in groups
to figure out these problems.
I turned around to the guy sitting behind me. I cant even remember his name but I
remember that he was young. I told him my situation about how I could not remember how to
do these types of problems. He was understanding but didnt offer much help. Minutes later
the instructor decided to work the problems out on the board. As she went through the first
problem step by step things started to click. She continued to work out the remaining five
problems and with each step I remembered more and more. By the time she had completed
the last problem the class was almost over. As the instructor said her final words and dismissed
class I know that I was in for a tough semester but I also knew I was up for this challenge.