Senior in GenEd History Class Brings a Certain Level of Life Experience to Group Discussion
You barely made it to your Tuesday 9:30 A.M. class. Now, three hours later, you are struggling to keep your head up while listening to your teacher talk about the history of the printing press and how it relates to the renaissance or something like that. Many thoughts go through your mind. Why is your GenEd history teacher wearing a full suit? Why are these people taking notes? What about this lecture could possibly need to be remembered? Eventually, you give up and browse Twitter on your laptop for trending celebrity deaths. It’s not long before your scrolling is interrupted by the beginning of group discussion. Normally, you wouldn’t be phased by this, however, today one voice stands out, demanding your attention.
“Being born in 1998, I feel as though I have a much different perspective than the other people in the class. Since I kinda remember 9/11, I truly do understand what it’s like to experience a tragedy, thus I have much more empathy,” said Dylan Sawyer, a senior communications major who rides a motorcycle, but parks it in a normal parking spot. “I think the whole Renaissance thing is really interesting. I also think that since I’ve taken this class three times already, I have a pretty solid grasp on it. I love using the information I have gathered, both in this class and the twenty-five other electives I’ve taken in my time at FSU, in order to both educate and engage my fellow classmates.”
“Dylan is so annoying. I hate that guy,” said Amy Miller, a freshman nursing major in Dylan’s history class. “At first I thought he was nice, but now I can't stand him. Every day, no matter where I sit in class, he will come down and sit directly next to me. I even started coming in late and he’ll still get up and move to where I’m sitting. It’s awful. Then, he spends the entire class talking about his motorcycle or how he isn’t on Instagram but on Facebook. He told me once that he doesn’t drink coffee, but when he wakes up every morning, he goes into ‘survival mode.’ I don’t even know what that means. One time, he told me he liked my earrings. I said thank you, then after a moment he said ‘I’ve never said that to anyone before.’ I just can’t wait for this semester to be over.”
It is unclear when Dylan will graduate, or if he ever will. He - and most seniors in general education classes - seem to transcend both age and major. They tend to be very social and eager, while also keeping an aura of mystery. This way, they can trap lonely freshman who think that they’re engaging in light small talk. Little do these freshmen just trying to “put themselves out there” know, they just made an acquaintance who will lead them to despise attending class. If an older guy swivels his chair around and asks if you’re a “first-year” in any of your classes, the best thing you can do is drop the course or maybe just take the semester off.