Keeping an open mind

I don’t think anyone can officially call themselves a college student until they have been cancelled out of a class. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, what’s the big deal? So you can’t take ONE class this term. La-de-da. Well, that’s not the real problem. Getting closed out of a class thrusts you into the lion’s den. You join hundreds of your classmates in the frantic scramble fill your schedules as quickly as you can. To act in haste is to be one step behind your peers. Someone will always snatch the last seat in your second choice class. In my case, I was beat out of five classes before I was placed in African American Literature, a class I had not planned on taking this year, but did want to take eventually.

I secured my place in African American Literature and was relieved. I bought my books and they seemed very interesting. To get a sense of the class, I asked the opinions of some of my friends who had taken it the term before. The reviews I received were mixed. Some people were very enthusiastic and said that both the class and professor were great. Others said that it wasn’t their cup of tea. This made me nervous, and I became rather reluctant to go to class.

However, when I arrived at the classroom, I was pleasantly surprised. In my class were several of people with whom I was already friendly. The professor was a delight, and the discussions were very interesting. Despite the fact that although the class was a little lengthy (three hours long), I really enjoyed it.

This experience is why I think getting closed out of a class is important. It’s not the scramble to be on top that matters, it’s winding up in hidden gem classes like African American Literature. Such experiences teach us the importance of an open mind.