Back to School

Hi kids. Well today was the first day back at UT for the fall semester. I was, as every year, slightly in shock by how many people flood onto campus during peak hours. Somehow I always forget what tens of thousands of people feels like over the summer. 

Its strange how many things remain basically the same year after year. Guadalupe and the West Mall were covered with clubs, textbook salesmen, Bible thumpers, environmentalists, invitations to free dinners, and freshmen looking lost. This year I am trying to be kind to the people who are constantly shoving papers at me. I really dislike being stopped cold by strangers, but I think this is supposed to be one of the joys of college life: exposure to new ideas and new things. I should at least be kind to them, as I briskly walk by. They're just giving people the option. 

I could tell it was the first day back in part because there were plenty of seats available in the PCL coffee shop. There are never seats there during the day once the semester gets going. The same could be said of the business school atrium. Also the coop was incredibly crowded. 

The good news is that I LOVE my TA assignment. I'm the teaching assistant for a class called "Unbelief in America." It's a class on the history of atheism and agnosticism in the U.S. I'm really excited about this class, because the professor is hilarious and interesting, and we get to read several very interesting primary sources. The class meets in Waggener, which makes me nostalgic for my younger days, taking philosophy classes as an undergrad. I used to know plenty of people in the philosophy department. Now they're all gone. 

The MA rough draft should be finished in about a week or so! At least for now I have a pleasant feeling about the semester. We'll see how it continues.