My First Semester Of College

My very first semester of college; how nerveracking but exhilarating. I felt that I was ready although I was worried that I wouldn’t like my professors. One of my roommates and close friend from highschool, Sarah, pointed out my World Civilizations class. She assured me that I would enjoy the class but also learn a lot from the professor, Dr. Joseph Laythe. Not only did he do a great job of teaching History, but he made me focus on how to become a better reader and writer.

Walking into the lecture hall on the first day of class, I picked a seat in the middle row. As more people kept filling the room I began feeling more anxious. I knew that we would go over the syllabus so it would be a breeze, but I had no clue what lengths of work would be included. Before he even handed out the syllabus, he made everyone write down their name and an interesting fact about themselves on an index car. We each had to personally hand him the card. This was his way of learning who you were. After everybody sat back down, he passed out the syllabus and we started to look over it. I noticed that I needed to buy three books to read for the class and that we would have six total papers to write. At this point I was beginning to fret, but Dr. Laythe inspired me with his next announcement. He had been diagnosed with cancer and it was getting worse. I was shocked at his statement and I felt a numbness take over my body. He reassured us of his optimistic outlook on life and told us that this life is what we make of it. I knew that instead of worrying about all of the work I would have to do, I would have to take it day by day and do my absolute best.

About two weeks into his lectures, I thought I was going to get carpel tunnel because of how many no...

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...d back with a bad grade. To my surprise I got a very high B. Dr. Laythe’s comments were short but they were just enough to help me improve my writing to begin receiving A’s. Eventually the girl I sat beside in class started asking me for help to improve her own writing skills which made me feel accomplished.

As a freshman, I didn’t really get to choose what classes I had nor did I know how to move my classes around, but for this I am thankful. His class taught me more about reading and writing than any English class I have ever taken. He guided us only as much as he had to, then let us figure it out on our own which has made me a better student. Dr. Laythe went on medical leave during the Spring 2016 semester and after his long battle with cancer he passed on March 12th. I was truly blessed to have gotten to know him and learn so many valuable lessons from him.