What Did She Say?

 

geralt via Pixabay

Often, before class starts, I can't help but overhear snippets of my students' conversations. There are plenty of private discussions that are quieter, or texted in silence, but there are always a few, usually involving a group of students, where they feel no need for discretion.

Before class today, a reply from one of my girls to another, more discreet than the group chat taking place in front of me, floated through the air, out of context. "College is a crazy place, y'know," she said. 

The comment, plus the light tone in which it was delivered made me smile and it left a lot to the imagination, so I started brainstorming potential lead-ins. What made college so crazy? What was Girl #2 responding to? 

• Girl #1: "I have something due every day this week." 
• Girl #1: "I just saw three people with purple hair."
• Girl #1: "There are suds in the fountain." (There really were!)
• Girl #1: "They're serving cotton candy in the quad." (They weren't)
• Girl #1: "There's a goat yoga class tonight at sunset."
• Girl #1: "Three guys walked into my psych class, dressed in drag."
• Girl #1: "My history professor is going to be on 'America's Got Talent.'"
• Girl #1: "My RA's gonna to be a contestant on 'The Bachelor'."
• Girl #1: "My next door neighbors were playing loud music until 2AM."
• Girl #1: "Professor Hess promised to serenade us today." (She did not)

I have no idea what their conversation was about (nor is it any of my business), but it can be fun to imagine what's going through my students' minds, especially the freshmen. Someday soon, they'll no longer be first semester students, and the moments before class will be quieter, with discretion being the hallmark of most conversations, whether softly spoken or conducted through the underground of texts and social media. But for now, my freshmen wear their hearts on their sleeves and their emotions echo through the room in the moments before we begin.

Not a bad way to begin a day.