October’s chilly fingers creep into coat collars, and a rainbow of falling leaves spirals down from the trees. Students cradle steaming mugs of coffee and walk close to one another. It is a lovely image. Lively, beautiful, and inviting, worthy of entire volumes of poetry, but it is not what I have chosen to write about this week. For, it is not the most inspiring thing I have experienced here at Knox.
Out of the brisk air, tucked warmly in my Spanish room, my classmates and I awaited the arrival of our professor. While we sat, we chatted about the falling leaves and the previous weekend’s exploits. Our professor walked in a few minutes late, tired and looking under the weather. She turned and faced the class, and, (in Spanish) professed that she was not feeling well. She passed out a grammar worksheet and asked that we complete it and then discuss the homework. She then turned around, with a sort of trust I have never before experienced, bade us farewell and left us to do our work.
In high school, my classmates would have bolted the second she walked through the door. So, I grit my teeth and closed my eyes expecting a repeat performance of adolescence. But, when I opened them, not a single person had left. Quite the contrary, everyone was doing the assignment, chatting in pleasant blend of Spanish and English. Laughing and helping each other with the worksheet. We analyzed the homework, talked about life, and when we were finished, we left.
I have never been so inspired by my peers, nor have I ever felt so much like adult. It was an incredible experience that makes me treasure the special academic community of which I have become a part.
