Orientation

Last Thursday I attended Orientation for school. I expected it to be pretty dull, full of information I really didn't need to be hearing again since I've attended numerous colleges over the years. But it was mandatory, so off to that place called Virginia I headed, leaving my house at 8 am. I arrived at school around 8:45 and then hung out until 9:30. Our Welcome Session was in the sanctuary of a neighboring church which made the music pouring from headphones and chattering on cell phones that much more annoying. So I decided to distract myself by looking at cnn.com, twitter and gchatting on my blackberry. I never said I wasn't a hypocrite - I just do it silently.

Orientation finally began with the Dean of Students lecturing us on how important it is to show up for class, show up on time, and be dedicated and courteous of those around us. And then she started talking to the parents in the room. This is right about the time I began gchatting in earnest. Even after she told us to turn off our cell phones. Since she didn't mention blackberries specifically, I took that to mean she was not talking to me and continued amusing myself while she explained, in painfully great detail, how important it is to take college seriously and that we're now actually paying for our education. Because the hours spent filling out FAFSAs and trying to get loans didn't hammer that in enough...

Then we got to meet some of our student advisors and first year advocates. All I'll say about that portion of the orientation is that I would take someone extolling the virtue and importance of an education much more seriously if they spoke properly.

We finally got to break down into our disciplines at 11 and the day got much more interestng. We met the chefs who will be our instructors, learned a bit more about the program and their expectations, and had the opportunity to ask questions and find out that they're all people who have a great passion for what they do, take it seriously, but also have fine senses of humor. It should be a really challenging but enjoyable program. Never fear, I have no doubt those words will come back to bite me in the ass.

After that hour session, we were sent on our way to clear any remaining holds, get our ids, set up our email accounts, pick up our kits, etc. Any stop that should have required one person helping me for two minutes ended up being something that required four people and thirty minutes. Long long day, but everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly and understanding. At the end of the day, as I lugged my 70 lbs of textbooks, uniforms, and supplies onto the metro, the phrase "Nothing worth having comes easy" came to mind. I came to the conclusion that this is going to be the most worth having it thing I've ever done.