Narrative

     The following essay, describing the mixed emotions of entering an English 111 class, was written by a  "returning" student in the fall of 99

Ken
English 111
7 September 1999

Not My Typical Day

The day began like any other day. The alarm clock went off at 6:45 am. Three snooze buttons and thirty minutes later, I was finally able to haul myself out of bed and the work day awaited. I rumbled through the clothes in the closet to find something to wear for work when an uneasy feeling swept through me, "Oh great, I’ve got school tonight." I said in a less than thrilled voice. You see, I haven’t been in school in over a year, and the class I had this evening was a subject I disliked since grade school, "English!"

I left the house five minutes late and on the way to work was delayed by construction work twice. I arrived at work a total of twenty minutes late and thought to myself, " Isn’t this just perfect!" Well I thought, at least it couldn’t get any worse and then the feeling again, "English." The day at work was less than productive. The usual problems and network slow downs helped to keep me focused on the job at hand, but all the while that dreaded feeling hung around my thoughts. The lunch break I would have taken, if I wasn’t late getting in, would mean only three more hours till the end of the work day. That would be a good thing, I think. Five o’clock came and I bolted from the office, to the car and home in record time. If I had to do this school thing, the least I could do is try to get there on time, not an easy task considering how far from school I work.

I arrived at class just a few minutes late and apparently was the last one in the class to show. I quickly scanned the class for a familiar face to sit near and found none, so I parked myself in an empty seat near a open window and waited for the English to begin. A slight mix-up at the bookstore left myself and a few others with the wrong books, so a visit to the bookstore was in order. I was more than a bit relieved when I traded the four books I had for the two books that I needed for the class. "That might make things a little more bearable," I thought to myself. Next was the usual class introductions, which were anything but, as we filled out a brief bio sheet and were introduced to the class by another class member. Interesting, and much better than the I’m so-and-so, from such-and-such routine. After the class intros were finished the professor took front stage center to lay her own bio on us. Some of the professors I’ve had in the past have come from larger Universities and while being very intelligent and knowledgeable in their fields, they have taught their classes with a style condusive to that of a military sergeant. "This can make or break the whole thing," I thought. The Professor spoke and we all listened.

Later that evening I arrived at home to find my girlfriend working on the computer. When she saw me she immediately turned and asked THEE question, "so, how did the class go?" I stopped at the table just long enough to drop my books, then replied "Much better than I thought it would. It’s still to early to tell, but this English thing might not be so bad after all."