So it’s the first day of the new semester and so far it’s not going so well. First I managed to catch the wrong bus, but it’s all good, I still managed to get to uni on time, a good 45 minutes before my first lecture is set to start.
So feeling excited and refreshed by the smelter break, I decided to rock up nice and early and secure a prime position in the lecture hall.
I grab some breakfast from the vending machine (a succulent mars bar), plow through it and double check the lecture hall on my timetable. Yup, I’m in the right place so I head on in. I was surprised to see the place was already almost completely full and a lecture already underway. After a brief moment of shock, I composed myself and shrugged it off as an early start. So I hurriedly find a seat up the front as all the good ones at the back are gone, and begin listening intently.
I’m loving the lecture, its all about mental illnesses, a topic I’ve always been fascinated by. It’s getting more and more intense as we get into psychosis and OCD disorders, Bipolar and Schizophrenia, but I’ve noticed a few things that go straight over me head, no idea what she’s talking about. But I put it down to not reading the assigned material beforehand. And then the lecturer starts referring to how we might have interacted with patients on clinical rotations. Definitely strange as I haven’t been on a clinical rotation yet, but she’s going on about it like it happened only a few weeks ago. Anyway, we’ve got half an hour left in the lecture and I’m getting more and more confused until my phone vibrates. I sneak a glance to see if it’s anything important… it’s a reminder… reminding me that my lecture begins in half an hour… and then it hit me….
I’m in the wrong lecture… I should be in the one after this one….
I weigh up my options, should I try to sneak out, or should I just wait it out? If I was up the back I could just duck out without much notice, but I’m near the front of the lecture hall, with close to 400 students behind me. I decide it’s too risky to attempt an exit so looks like I’m riding this out, after all, its an interesting topic and I figured out its a class I will attend next semester so why not get a head start. And then the unthinkable happened…
“You there!” I look up to see the lecturer pointing squarely at me…. I won’t lie, I panicked a little. “how do you think these concepts could apply to how you interacted with the patients during your clinicals?” oh thank the lord it’s only a question, I thought I was about to be thrown out for being in the wrong lecture. And of course I start to panic again, I haven’t even been on clinical placement yet. I managed to spin off some rabble that of course the lecturer didn’t agree with, which started a bit of a debate.
I became a minor celebrity for the rest of the lecture because apparently my response was waaaaay off and sparked an intense discussion, but that’s all good, I won’t be back next week, I just have to make it through the next 5 minutes of the lecture and I’m free! Then I realised something even more dreadful… this was the lecturer for my lecture coming up next… and now she knows my face. I can’t be in both lectures, she’ll surely notice something is up. I won’t lie, I considered sitting elsewhere and if she noticed, simply claim I have a twin brother in the semester above. but no, a lot of students know me already. well looks like I’m boned.
I eventually decide to not attend my lecture and I’ll just have to watch the recording later on. But hey, at least now I’ve got a head start for next semester!
I guess that’s what I get for being too anxious to dive into the new semester… yup.