the campus in fall

I love the beginning of the academic school year. There's more energy now on campus than in the winter or spring, and students seem more eager to talk and read (at least for a few weeks). The fall is also a fantastic time to people-watch, since many of the first-year undergraduates arrive with new, trendy and occasionally bizarre outfits. While most of them are still wearing tank tops and jeans, there are suddenly many students wearing long, belted tunics and leggings this quarter. There also seems to be a trend amongst the guys to wear brightly-colored, giant high-tops. 80's fashion does seem to be getting a second chance, at least selectively. (If next year we're all wearing stirrup pants and hypercolor t-shirts tied to the side, watch out!)

I realize this is cliche, but in some very real ways the campus also feels less lonely after a quiet summer session. I've had the chance to catch up with several of my graduate school friends (two of whom are pregnant now!) and have run into some of my favorite undergraduate students on campus. Three of them even stopped me to say that they missed my class and wished I could be teaching some of their new ones, which meant more to me than I think they realize. The fall students remind me why I want to be a teacher in a way that I will probably forget about again by, say, the end of the spring quarter.