All Bright-Eyed & Bushy-Tailed

We received a large batch of new students at our college this week, from all over. I'm not quite sure if everyone fully understood the contents of my briefing, but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt- they have had to adjust to my accent (hence they looked totally confused & detached); some of them were tired due to the long schedule (so they slept!).

It's always interesting to observe new students. Naturally there's this 'feel-good' factor about them, having started a new journey in their lives. Those who had questions stayed back to clarify certain things about their programme and I also had a chance to speak to some of them.

Many types of student make up an intake- some are type-A: sits at the front, takes down notes and listens attentively to what you say; some are smart alexes: makes smart remarks that are not really funny but may evoke sympathetic laughs or a mere smirk from others; some are deer-in-the-headlight clueless types, perhaps in limbo or in shock; some are the 'uninteresteds': they (think they) know what you're going to talk about & (think that) whatever you say will not increase their IQ any further.

Hence begins their journey, and they have chosen to make that journey in our college. Some may stay the whole way (for better or for worse), some may change their minds while some may drop out altogether. As far as I am concerned, "the rest is still unwritten" (to quote Natasha Bedingfield) and I'll let nature (and nurture) take its course.