As college students, about how many first impressions can we possibly take in a single day? Apparently the maximum for most of us here at Eastern is about 4-6, which can be a rather dizzying experience by about 3 p.m.

How many new perfumes/colognes, lipstick-stained mugs, strictly structured syllabi and awkward icebreakers does it take for us to finally feel the uncanny sensation of déjà vu creeping upon us? Despite our terror for the mundane on the odious “syllabus day/week,” there’s beauty in it.

First impressions are moments to relish and not to dismiss by hiding behind our cellphones. It’s important that we immerse ourselves in the brand newness of an experience we are living in that very moment.

The second we find ourselves leaning in toward a classroom, think of all the ways our senses so rapidly react to a new environment, fresh faces and distinct scents. When we walk in, we have agreed to become bombarded with a plethora of personalities. Some students studiously keep their gazes low—avoiding eye contact at all costs. Others will curiously scan the faces before them, reddened by the January’s icy nip and wonder where to comfortably nestle themselves at.

As the minute hand hungrily eats its way to the time we’ve desperately scrambled to memorize, we can pick up the staccato beat of a pair of heels or loafers briskly approaching the classroom, and the professor instantly adopts us all.

When a professor waltzes in, I think, “This isn’t my classroom anymore.” My snacks are stuffed away, phone is silenced and hidden and I’ve got a pen in hand to click at incessantly as the professor struts about toward the front of the room like a sniveling wolf circling and claiming its territory.

I can almost hear them: “This space is mine, kiddies. This desk? This projector? Even this wooden graffitied, gum-ridden podium and miserable slices of chalk—they’re mine.” After those first few frightening thoughts, I practically hang off of my seat waiting eagerly to catch the first few words coming out of their mouths.

A warm grin breaks across their face and that menacing voiceover in my head is immediately silenced. When professors presents themselves with that kind of grin and friendly introduction, it entirely shatters the wolf-like image that haunted me just a few seconds ago.

The infamous “syllabus day/week” is the perfect time to reach out, closely observe your professor, and try to determine what you can and can’t get really get away with. What makes your professor really tick? What makes them melt? What shakes their Mondays blues and into a spectacular mood?

But most importantly, we should ask ourselves this: How can I succeed in this class by getting to understand the way my professor functions?

Take advantage of this first week and become a people watcher. Seriously, just go through the syllabus briefly as your professor lectures and you will quickly discover that the pages are shout ing their personality out at you.

When you know the professor, you have basically figured out the class and what’s expected of you.

Marge Clemente is a senior english major and can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].