First Day

So Wednesday night was the first night of class for me. I’m only taking one class this semester, so it was my one and only first day. I was nervous all day, but excited too, because it’s been a LONG time since I was a student. Besides that, I have NEVER been an MFA student before. So I was ready to get over there but kind of dreading it too. And on tops of that, my mother decided at the last minute she was going to go with me, which meant that I couldn’t go as early and get my student ID as I had planned to do. But after we got on the road, I was rather thankful she did go because I had gotten up at 5 AM for Boot Camp class and I was starting to get tired.

After being nervous about the time issue, since my mother is always late, we ended up getting there with at least 45 minutes to spare, and found a great spot very close to Jordan Hall. I had time to cruise through the bookstore, get a planner and a notebook plus a window decal for my car, and get something to eat. We sat outside on the patio and ate. A little before 7, I decided I had to at least get into the building, so I went it and found the classroom. One of my classmates Amy, whom I met over the summer, was already there, so that put me at ease right away. People started to filter in, most of them I recognized from either the party in June or the orientation on Sunday. There were only two people I didn’t recognize.

Dan, the professor, came in and he started class by posing the idea of not workshopping in the class, which is a Prose Workshop class. I was totally enthralled from that moment. What a cool idea! All the workshop classes I’ve been to have been SO structured, so competitive, and a general pain in the ass and not terribly helpful. Any feedback is usually someone saying something to be nice, and not really giving any helpful suggestions. So that suggestion, and instead working more on the process of being a writer, on being accountable, on working to put in the work, is more of what I wanted out of the MFA program to begin with. A couple students seemed reluctant. They really wanted someone to read their stories and pat them on the head. As Dan said “Get over that bullshit”! So I’ll be interested to see what happens next week!

The other thing we are doing in class is called “Clearing”. We have to go around the room every week and basically get off our chest the stuff that may keep us from being present that night in class, such as something that is bothering us. I was kind of nervous about that part because Dan said he will call us on what we say if he thinks we’re not being honest. But for the first day, I think I did ok.

As far as homework, our main work will be something that goes along with the whole non-workshopping discussion, and that is that we have to write for 48 minutes every day. No more. No less. Don’t ask me why 48 minutes. He didn’t tell us and I was too shy to ask. But that is really the kind of work I wanted to be doing in the program. So writing this is going to just about fill my time for today.

We have an article to read for next week, and two books for right now, which I will need to pick up tomorrow since I didn’t have time to do it today. Amazon is out of one of them, so I just hope Books-A-Million has them or I’m not sure what I’m going to do.

The last thing we had to do was sign up for a class period to bring snacks to. I love this idea because if we’re sitting there for two and a half hours, something to eat would be good to keep us awake. Plus, it contributes to the relaxed nature of the class.

So for a first day, my overall impressions are as follows:

One, I am SO glad I chose Butler over the other school I was admitted to. I think the regular classroom setting will be better for me than the low-residency option.

Two, I really like the way at least one faculty member teaches! I know that not everyone will run class this way, but I think I’m lucky that I am starting out with this type of person rather than someone more structured.

Three, I think the program is the right one for me! Small, relaxed, but totally intellectually challenging, which is what I have missed for a long time! Teaching composition is not the most stimulating work, especially if you’ve been doing it for over 10 years. I needed something to exercise my damn brain!

I feel almost worried that I am TOO excited about this degree. I know that there will be times when I’m irritated, frustrated, or down-right mad about something. That’s a part of getting an education. But I just am so thankful that it hasn’t started out that way. At least my first day in the MFA program will be colored by my enthusiasm, my sheer joy at being able to learn from new people in a new atmosphere. And I will remember walking out of Jordan Hall with a smile on my face, and a racing heart, no matter what comes in the next two years.