Dis-Orientation

Hey, look!  It’s not a Plinky post!

I had my orientation today.

When I was ready to go at 8:10, I just left.  I found plenty of parking–and was the first one there by more than a half hour.  It’s a good thing I brought a book.

My big concern was that I would be the oldest student attending–and I wasn’t, at least, I think I saw a guy that I originally thought was the father of one of the other students there signing in to get his picture taken for a Student ID.

I wish I had done an orientation for Utah State.  Maybe I did, and I’m just not remembering.   I was one of those kids who graduated high school thinking that she knew it all.  The past ten years have proved otherwise.

I’m proud of being able to get out the door this morning.  There was a moment when I seriously considered pushing the orientation back again–the next closest one will be on July 15th, but then I decided that I really couldn’t.  If I got into that habit, then the school year would start, and I wouldn’t have done the things that I need to to register for classes.

I guess that’s really what I need to be doing in my life.  I need to figure out a way to overcome my fears and anxieties, and just do the things that need to be done.   I spent the day, first in a room full of people, then wandering around with a teenage smart ass who was spent all of the tour flirting with the teenage rodeo queen, until we got back into the room full of people.

I only had to pull out my stress ball once.  I wasn’t happy about my surroundings, but I did it.

Now to translate that into going to church…

Because I don’t like being around people, I spend my Saturday nights watching TV.  Because I’m a nerd, that TV tends to be PBS as much as anything else.  Last week, I caught a series of shows about philosophers, and one, Michele Montaigne, peaked my interest.  So today, after orientation, I went to the library.  I was a bit thrown off–the book the host of the TV program was holding to illustrate Montaigne’s writings was a 100 page pocket-book.  At the library, the one I found is bigger than the bible.   It’s overwhelming, but I have full confidence in myself to conquer all 857 of 16th century French philosophy.

After all, it doesn’t involve dealing with other people.

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