Today, the first year students arrived, lending campus an underpopulated but overactive air. I'm "facilitating" one of the common reading discussion groups tomorrow, along with a rising senior, so I'm soon to actually meet some of the best and brightest. (The college chose Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains as the common reading this year.)
For the past few days, Shannon and I have been debating whether those first days of freshman year were fun or dreadful. She's advocating the latter position, more or less; I'm staking out the former. All the new, interesting people to meet! Living away from home! Taking fascinating courses! Choosing a major! The prospect of meeting girls who didn't prefer hockey players! (Ahem.) But, rushing to the car after a late meeting this afternoon, I did pass several small groups of freshmen doing those horrifying "icebreaker" activities, including the awful one where everyone first stands in a circle, then crouches simultaneously so they wind up sitting on the knees of the person behind. Automagically, the circle supports itself, and everyone is made a little bit lamer than they were already. I suppose that's the point.