Time to SOAR... Like a Rock.

In which our Hero contemplates the various ways in which he is deeply, eternally grateful to his gracious and loving parents....

Last Wednesday, I attended SOAR. (Student orientation and registration)

In my preparations for the day, I thought it would be fairly straight forward; as a music major I have only two electives my entire college career so my registration would only consist of filling in the blanks of required classes. As well as anticipating a fairly simple registration process, I was somewhat looking forward to being 'oriented' to the campus. I expected a fairly long day largely consisting of explanations of important locations and activities in campus life....

I was, sorely mistaken concerning SOAR.

The day began at 8:30 am with the obvious beginning of checking in. From there things went fairly smoothly; I had my picture taken for student ID; I wandered around observing various booths, no feast, just booths; My mother and I grabbed some of the complimentary local roaster coffee, the good stuff, and we went to sit down.

We picked a random table and sat down, it was towards the back and we had specifically selected it because it had a convenient set of seats in which my mother would not have to turn her head to watch the presentations. We quickly learned, from a student council member, that the tables were sorted according to what school you were in. When we learned this, we packed up and moved for the small group of tables in the far back corner that were marked with red balloons for the arts department.

We waited the remaining fifteen to twenty minutes until the first presentation, we were in pleasant company, sitting at the the table, making smalltalk, with the only Theater Major attending SOAR on that day. At last it came time for what was slated as three presentations concerning campus life and preparing for entering college.

Here is where the disappointment lies.

For two and a half hours I listened to three different people give the same lecture about responsibility. About how I now had to make my own decisions, determine my own course, find myself, feed myself -I thought that one especially pathetic- and in the midst of all of this, I was informed that, I was actually at college to learn things....

....... uh, yeah.

Those hours were, thankfully, not the most important part of SOAR. After having felt my time wasted, my life slowly oozing out of me as those valuable minutes were spent, I got down to some real orientation. The Arts group walked over to the Fine Arts building and we were given a nice forty minute introduction to the atmosphere of the Arts program. I was grateful for it, and it doesn't hurt when you personally know the faculty member presenting.

After that relevant bit was over, my mother and I headed for lunch. It was a decent lunch, catered fast food being what it is.
My mother and I separated, she to listen to a bunch of concerned parents talk about their 18-year-olds as children, and me, to my class advisory with the head of the music faculty. (Who I also know)

My advising session went well. It largely consisted of finding what time slot for each of the required classes would fit with the others the best. Until, by the end, my total schedule has me one campus from 9 to 5 every weekday.

On the whole, I was very glad to be registered for classes and even more glad to leave as soon as that was finished.

I look forward to starting classes in the Fall, taking classes from professors who expect things of me, and being able to return to them, hopefully, more than they expect. That's my goal anyway, vain as it is.


But now, I must divert my attention to this newly and wonderfully made Pizza... My Mama is awesome.

Thank you for reading.