First-day jitters

 When we meet as a class, we usually chat a minute about first-day jitters. Most students are surprised to learn that professors have them, too! 

One way that the first-day jitters manifest is in dreams: I usually have my first back-to-school nightmare two weeks before classes begin, exactly. How my subconscious mind knows to count the days is a mystery to me, but for five years, ten semesters, that's how it's been. Consistently. 

And if it's funny, I'll share it on our first day of class. Some of you will usually share yours. But we're not meeting as a class and there was no way to work it into the Getting Started module. 

That's what this blog is for: It's where I'll throw Everything But the Kitchen Sink that doesn't fit into D2L. All three sections, 180 of you, will share it and I will continue it next semester--and beyond--if it's a hit. 

This semester, I did not have my first class-related dream until Saturday night. And it was unique in that it was a pandemic dream, too. Not my usual I'm-wearing-pajamas or I'm-not-prepared dream. I've had a lot of pandemic dreams, this summer, and I bet you have, too. 

This one wasn't funny, but here it is anyway:

We were in class the first week and you were all taking the Syllabus Quiz. 

In person.

We were crowded into the classroom as one normally is at KSU, sharing tables, doors closed, and not a single one of us had a mask on. Not one. 

It wasn't until towards the end of class that I remembered it was supposed to be 100% on line, we weren't scheduled to be in this room at this time, and let's don't mention that there was a pandemic on and we were all supposed to be masked and keeping our distance from each other. 

I woke up on the edge of an anxiety attack. 

Do you have first-day jitters? What do you do to help yourself with them? Do you have back-to-school anxiety dreams? Feel free to share yours in the Comments!