So, I'm supposed to be doing homework...

I am sitting in the campus library, tapping out my thoughts while ensconced in one of the many private kiosks provided. And, yes, I am supposed to be hammering out my math homework; plotting points on a graph to determine linear relationship can wait, however.

My first weeks of time at a community college has been quite an immersion in modern culture. Well, the culture of high school, that is. With so many Running Start students running around, I feel like I stepped back onto a high school campus. Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge high school seniors that want to buckle down and work hard to get not only their high school diploma but an AA degree, as well. The concern for me is the adjustment made by the instructors for the influx of all these younger students...and there are a lot of them.

Take for example my English class, which happens to be a 101 class. So, I know it's going to be rather elemental from the get-go - no problem. However, when the instructor takes half the class time to belabor the fact that everyone needs to turn in their homework, or the benefits vs. consequences to purchasing your own laptop, well, I feel a little patronized. The high school aged students around me seem to be more interested in their piercing recovery time than in getting Eng 101 under their belt with a good grade. *frown* Interesting thing about young people...they seem to think the world revolves around them and, further, that everyone thinks like they do. Ah, the innocence of youth.

I do, however, enjoy just the simple exercise of people watching every morning as I come onto campus. Mostly, it is the younger generation in their leggings and boots of every description for the girls and oversized shirts and baggy pants to show off the various boxers for the guys. The young foreign exchange students add color to the soundtrack of campus conversation while the occasional older students, such as myself, are just trying to get to their next class while juggling real life. Honestly, I'm surprised there are not more older students. I am, by far, the oldest in all my classes, and the oldest soul gracing one of these kiosks at the moment.

I always grin at the sights: students standing around waiting for the classroom to open for their next class, all in the 'text' position, glued to their cell phone screens. Instructors with that air of authority rushing to their next destination and to another armload of papers to grade. Everyone walking through campus 'wired' up to their music devices...

Fall is in their air, the crispness causing me to don turtlenecks and sweaters. The leaves are starting to turn in earnest while the almost-chilly breeze plays with them without excuse. The sun streams through the windows of the library and is greeted by gentle conversation and the atmosphere of learning. And, for right now, I'm thankful for a few minutes stolen to capture the picture. Will my English teacher care if I spent my break to write just for fun? Heck no...he's far too worried about high school students putting their electronics away and not talking over the top of him. *sigh*