8/11/2019 Anthony Collins Essay 1 Rough Draft

1/2

Collins 1

Anthony Collins

Professor Sylvia Bey

English 1101

August 29, 2014

My First day returning to College

My first day returning to college was very stressful. I awoke early that Thursday

morning. I knew that today was going to be a day to remember so I allowed myself plenty of

time to get ready and arrive early to class. The night before I had packed my bag with books

and the usual school supplies. After taking a shower and picking out my outfit from the

selection of new clothes I had bought the week before, I jumped into my car and head up the

highway. I live in Toccoa so it is a thirty minute drive to reach the Clarkesville campus. My drive

was uneventful. I got out of my car and headed to classroom 215. As I approached the door to

room 215 I realized I was twenty minutes early so I peaked inside to see if anyone else was in

the room. To my surprise several students had arrived before me and had already taken a seat

so I entered the room and took a seat at the front of the class. I had read once that the closer

you sit to the teacher the better you learn. I had a feeling I need to be as close as possible

because, even though I have always exceled at math I had not taken a college level course in

over 5 years and I had a feeling Pre-Calculus was not going to be easy.

After about fifteen minutes the instructor arrived. I was very nervous to say the least. As

she did role call my hands were soaked with sweat. I wondered to myself, Why am I so

8/11/2019 Anthony Collins Essay 1 Rough Draft

2/2

Collins 2

nervous? After taking attendance the instructor handed out the class syllabus and a calendar.

As I looked over the calendar I thought this doesnt seem so bad. She went on to explain how

the homework and quizzes were not due until the day of the test. This put my mind at ease

because I knew that I need to do some refreshing before I attempted the homework and

quizzes. Listening to the instructor explain her expectations gave me confidence that I could

tackle this course.

Then the unthinkable happened. The instructor put six math problems on the board and

said If you cant do these problems then you are probably in the wrong class. My heart sunk.

As I looked at the board I realized that I did not remember how to do any of these problems.

How could this be? It had been five years since I had taken College Algebra but I should

remember some of this. I stared at the board for what seemed like an eternity. I was awoken

form my dismay by the sound of the instructors voice insisting that we work together in groups

to figure out these problems.

I turned around to the guy sitting behind me. I cant even remember his name but I

remember that he was young. I told him my situation about how I could not remember how to

do these types of problems. He was understanding but didnt offer much help. Minutes later

the instructor decided to work the problems out on the board. As she went through the first

problem step by step things started to click. She continued to work out the remaining five

problems and with each step I remembered more and more. By the time she had completed

the last problem the class was almost over. As the instructor said her final words and dismissed

class I know that I was in for a tough semester but I also knew I was up for this challenge.