Did you know that, at least at the school I currently attend, they don’t call them ‘freshmen’ any more? They are now called ‘first years.’ Some part of a political correctness blahdity blah, I’m sure. They’re still freshmen.
Any-who…considering the fact that I am at least 10 years older than the vast majority of students at RU, it was bound to happen that I would run across some interesting creatures that would either intrigue me or try my patience. I’ve found both, and it’s amazing to my how dichotomous the members of this particular population can be.
Case in point (and this is a perfect example): I happen to know 2 young women who are both part of the Pharmacy program at my school (I will not hate them, I will not hate them…because, you know, that’s the program I want to be in, but they don’t consider non-traditionals when they create their 0-6 program…whatever, I’m not bitter.) The two of them could not be more opposite from one another.
The first one, I completely understand why she was admitted. The girl’s got smarts and she is driven. Aside from the over-interjection of the word ‘like’ in conversation (an unconscious habit that many people that age have, well into their early 20′s), she is well spoken and seems to have a grip on the present and goals for the future. Sometimes, I wish I was a little more driven like her. Maybe my grades would be a bit better.
The other one? Well, people like her make me wonder what they hell were they thinking when they admitted her to the program. It makes me very aggravated, in fact. The pharm students are typically viewed as one of the smartest populations at school, and yet somehow, she managed to slip by. Of course, now that she’s in, she only has to maintain a 2.8 GPA, whereas someone like me has to fight tooth and nail just to get an interview by the time I’m ready to apply for pharm school.
Conversations I’ve had with second student:
Young female student: I wish I could switch brains with you…just for math and chemistry.
Me: And what good would that do me?
Yes, that was a real interaction, and yes, I actually said that out loud. I apologized shortly thereafter, but really, considering the fact the girl had failed the tests we’d had in those subjects, I thought it was a valid question.
YFS: So, before you came back to school, what did you do with all your free time?
Me: **crickets**
Seriously, I just stared at her for a few seconds before I could even think of what to say. Considering the fact that I was working a full time job (and sometimes more than 40 hours a week) along with all the other stuff you do to maintain some minor semblance of life (you know, roof over your head, food on the table, toilet paper in the bathroom…), it just boggled me that she would think that I had all this free time because I wasn’t in school (which, in fact, I actually was, only I was taking courses online at the time.) I mean, she lives with her parents…does she not see what they do day after day to make life livable?
I will not deny, there are definitely some great young people out there. But sometimes, you just have to wonder…
