Fredonia

Too long between posts - but a good excuse. H and I road-tripped back to Buffalo to visit family, see two sisters graduate high school, and do a bit of wedding planning. She's been teasing me about not updating this, and rightfully so. It was a lovely visit, overall, capped with a brief stop back at our alma mater to see how things have changed.

We walked around campus a bit, feeling every wonderful twang of nostalgia possible. I'll confess to being a bit worried before arriving - our small, state college holds a special place in my heart, and I was concerned that my memories had idealized the place and that the abundance of new faces (and new buildings) would leave me feeling left out, melancholy, or - worst of all - old. Luckily our pit stop proved to be less of a grasp at glory days and more of a pleasant return to a place that shaped us into smart, ambitious, and clever young adults.

After the obligatory stop at the new book store for campus swag (Why do college hooded sweatshirts always look so cool?) we had a pleasant surprise encounter with a former teacher. H had several classes with Bruce during our time at Fredonia, as did I. Eventually he became something of a mentor, offering frank advice outside the classroom as well. He happily greeted us, asking what we were up to now that we'd graduated and congratulating us on our engagement. It seemed our encounter was a bit serendipitous, as his department was just bouncing around ideas on how to keep tabs of graduates and what we were up to.

Why did Fredonia work so well for me? In retrospect, it's all about the relationships I made. The professors, the friends, the band mates, bartenders, trouble-makers, the woman I'm going to marry...

This entry is spiraling a bit, but what excites me is considering my students' futures - Will they come back? Will they seek me out, introducing me to their fiances? Will they be successful? Sure this is egotistical - they all have their own lives and for many my classes are just a drop in the bucket - but a large part of this profession is helping people develop and it's my sincere hope that a few years from now I'll be able to write about a happy encounter with a former student who's poised to light the world on fire.