It's a new dawn, a new day, a new life...

Okay, so what happened to summer? I woke up this morning to find that everything was cold, just a couple of degrees away from frost on the ground and ice in the toilet. Seems I went to sleep in summer and woke up in autumn. It’s been cold for over a week now, and my brain has already clicked into autumn mode.

And so yesterday was the first day of classes at Memorial University. The strangest part about being back on campus was that it felt as if I’d never left. The summer was brutally short—I just have vague memories of a lot of writing and some family events, interspersed with cold weather and occasional warmth.

Walking from my office on the fourth floor of the Science Bldg. to my first class on the fourth floor of the Education Bldg., I was thinking about what I would say to my students. I mean, you walk into a class and see all these new faces, some eager to be starting something new and challenging, a new chapter in life, and others wishing to God they’d stayed in bed and maybe applied for the military or a Academy Canada. Sometimes, you get both, of course—the person who knows this is a great experience but already wishes it was Christmas so they could just go home and be with their families.

But it’s the same every fall. Mostly, the students have trepidations and yet are in this for the long haul, ready to get something out of it, knowing that—unlike high school—these really are the best years of most people’s lives. They really are. I don’t mean that every person’s experience is completely positive. Some people even go through some pretty serious stuff. But everything you do in first-year university is heightened and seen somewhat through a glass, darkly at times. It’s a bit like Christmas in that it doesn’t feel quite real to be here doing all this cool stuff and scary stuff and all the amazing thing you ever dreamed of, planning the rest of your life and hanging out with people of your choosing, rather than just the ones you happened to find yourself sharing a locker with or living next door to.

I know I’m an optimist, but I’m old enough now that I know it’s a permanent condition. Sure, I’m a realist and a skeptic. For example, I take a wait-and-see attitude towards ghosts, aliens, and the Maple Leafs ever winning the Stanley Cup again. And yet I’m optimistic enough to think that both ghosts and aliens could be out there somewhere. I just need to see for myself because I don’t rely much on other people’s experiences to inform my own reality.

But I do believe the best in people, and just from looking at the groups I have in my classes this year, I can already tell it’s going to be fun. It won’t all be great and there will be plenty of times of worry and concern, both for me and for my students, but I’m looking forward to an extremely enjoyable semester. Plenty of students smiled as I called their names and a lot of them stopped and said a few words or, again, just smiled on their way out the door. That lets me know that they’re at least not scared of me or of the situation—or if they are, they are at least willing to give it the old college try.

I’ve been told a lot in my teaching career that you should “never let them see you smile on the first day”. Well, you know what? That’s the most foolish piece of advice I’ve ever heard. To me, the best advice is to try to be natural and yourself, and that way you don’t have anything to make up for, or apologize for, later. Being yourself is probably about the hardest thing there is to be, especially in a public situation—and I’m not just talking about me. I’m mostly thinking about people in general and students in particular.

The hardest thing about it, really, is just figuring out who you are in the first place. And sometimes that is exactly what you’re supposed to be doing at this point, in first-year university: figuring out who you are. Sure, you have a good idea by now, or at least I hope so. But you’ll encounter a lot of course options, people options (should I sit near the same crowd as last time or find a crowd that at least has something in common with who I think I am?), credit card options (to apply, reject, spend, over-spend, pay the minimum, or pay it off completely each month), and what to do with your time (studying, working, playing, relaxing, movies, and any number of adult-type activities). It’s all up to you. And every choice you make, and how you ultimately react to the consequences of that choice, decide not only who you are, but who you are on your way to becoming.

I always pose a question to my students on the information sheet I asked you to fill out and pass in: “Why are you here?” Most just say they want to get an education and get a job. Many say they want to learn to be better writers. Others say they haven’t a clue while others say the course was recommended by a friend or family member. The occasional student says something about wanting to find out what to do with their lives and to experience as much as possible in life, including talking about great literature and great ideas. It’s all good. What I mostly look for is how you interpreted the question and whether you acknowledge or recognize that there are multiple possibilities available to you: choices. How you interpreted it says more about you than what you said.

The answers might change in time; they usually do. But the questions are often eternal.

Have a truly great semester.

If you’re one of my students this semester, keep checking back here now and again. There’ll be lots of stuff on here that might interest you or help you out a little in your endeavours to become a better writer and thinker.

If you’ve been following all along and are no longer a student of mine (or never were), hang in there. I’ll still be riffing on everything from why anyone should care about Jon and Kate marathons to why is Bob Dylan doing a Christmas album. Or maybe the questions themselves serve my purpose. Maybe it’s best not to dwell on certain subjects. Could lead to a headache.

Talk to you soon.

GC

Could be fun.

"Summer has come to pass/the innocence can never last/ Wake me up when September ends."

Yeah, I guess that's my mood at the moment. Where the heck did summer go?

Oh yeah, I was busy. Can't believe I never did take a vacation this year. I started out with good intentions. Back in early May, I had eye surgery to make me see better, but that didn't quite work out. For two months, I couldn't drive and, worse, wasn't able to read. The driving has come back, but the reading is still pretty iffy, though it's a lot better than it was. Might still need reading glasses when all is said and done just to get through all those essays and, of course, the literature itself when I start teaching next week. It's a bummer, but that's life. So now I can see the color of a mosquito's irises 100 yards away, but if he comes up close I can't even tell what kind of creature he is. Sort of a good news/bad news situation.

Somehow during June, I was able to finish my short story collection. I wasn't able to read/revise/edit my own work very well, but I managed, and I hope prospective editors will forgive any grammatical and spelling errors. First time in my life I've ever really had to contend with those. But I feel good about getting the collection (called Moonlight Sketches, as I've mentioned before) out to publishers. It makes for a good summer's work.

The novel is coming along, but it obviously won't be done before Sept. 9 when I start teaching, so I'll be working on that as the semester goes along (yeah, right).

Other than that, I did do some acting this summer. I spent one entire 11-hour day on the set of The Republic of Doyle, doing some stints as a security guard. It was kinda cool, dressing in the uniform, wearing the bulletproof vest (might like to have one of those for those really hard days), the walkie-talkie, the big ol' hat, and all the rest. They shot me in a couple of scenes that included Shaun Majumner from "This Hour Has 22 Minutes"), but I have no idea if they'll actually use them. They promise they'll call again, but they've only called once and I wasn't able to make it. The best part was hanging out on the set all day, though it was pretty long and occasionally boring. I met lots of new people who all had different reasons for trying their hand at being an "extra" on a nationally broadcast t.v. show. Some were serious actors while others were just looking for a cool experience. As for me, I was just looking for the experience and to see if I liked it enough to want to do more. I did like it and, in fact, spent an entire week this summer rehearsing lines for an audtion for a speaking role. I didn't get the part (for various reasons, I'm sure) but it was fun to try and to stretch myself in that way. I've always wanted to give it a go, wondered if I even had to capacity to remember lines and to give them the proper inflection and facial expression to be an "actor". Now I don't have to spend the rest of my life wondering if I should give it a try. The answer is: of course.

I'm also working on a short film for a director-friend, but that has yet to really start shooting. Probably this fall.

So for those of you wondering what I did all summer, now you know: writing, acting, hanging out, lots of barbecues, beaches, long walks, playing some music, and, of course, running. Love running in warm weather. Not so fond of the cool weather jogging. It makes me wish I was wearing mittens and a snow suit.

So now it's September, and it's back to teaching. What a bizarre transition that will be, not just for me but (I'm sure) for all my students as well. More to say on that next week. But for now, I just thought I'd say hi to all of you who've been reading this blog all summer--despite my neglect of it-- and welcome to autumn. It's my favorite time of year, so that makes up for a lot. Plus, I'm looking forward to seeing a lot of the old familiar faces and a multitude of fresh, mostly eager faces as well.

Could be fun.

GC