Stay close to the ties that bind; faith is one of them

    As another school year begins again, parents and students alike will begin the process of letting go and returning to the grind of balancing studies and independence. Scrolling through the Facebook newsfeed and glancing at the latest shared posts on Buzzfeed, it’s easy to see that school is about to be in session, as people begin thinking about things they wish they had known about college or things they wish they could rewind about their college experience.
    New beginnings are always hard. Filled with anxiety and excitement, the start of a new year encourages us to think about what’s ahead: what we want to do, who we want to be and how we can achieve our goals.
    Kurt Vonnegut famously proclaimed, “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
    No college freshman has ever known who they are or who they want to be; they make it up as they go along. It’s what happens during that time that begins to form a person’s identity. Those made up actions will eventually shape our views and form our behavior in the years ahead, so it’s important to keep a few things in mind.
    While planning my syllabus for teaching composition to college freshman, I recognize that the first weeks will be difficult. The students who straggle into my classroom will be nervous, eager to please, and simply thankful to have found the right classroom. And while they are nervous, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the professor is just as nervous as their students.
    A class can go well only if the students add to the discussion, share their experiences and want to be in the class learning. While professors may seem intimidating, often they are just as daunted as their students, eager and hoping that those students will want to get the most out of their class.
    Most professors became professors because they enjoy teaching and interacting with students. Make the most of your time with them: go to their office hours, allow them to help you. They want you to succeed.
    Last year, toward the end of the semester, a few of my students were required to interview a professor for one of their classes. One of the questions I was asked was about the advice I would give to students.
    My strongest piece of advice to my students always has been to study what interests them most. Getting through classes will be almost impossible if someone is not truly interested and passionate about what they are learning. Get excited about studying, whether that be in something practical or not.
    Going into college, I knew I wanted to major in English because I love to read and write about what I’ve read. Whenever I would tell someone that I was majoring in English, I would always get asked what I intended on doing with that major – how would I get a job? Of course, getting a job is important, but I believe that doing something that you believe in and are passionate about is more important than majoring in an area that might guarantee higher employment prospects.
    My second piece of advice has always been to keep in touch with parents and siblings. Yes, going away from college means independence, but it doesn’t have to mean letting go of all contact with everyone back home. Throughout college and graduate school, and even today, I try to talk to at least one of my parents every day or at minimum a few times per week.
    By doing that, I remember to stay grounded. It’s easy to be consumed by new environments but focusing in on our roots reminds us of what’s important.
    The same can be said of going to Mass. College is the first time in many young adults’ lives where they make the decision on their own about whether to go to Mass. Growing up in a Catholic family, going to Mass may be something of a ritual – it’s what we do on Sundays because it’s what we’ve always done with our families.
    We should make time for Mass, not only to enrich our spiritual lives, but also because it might remind us of being at home with our families, binding us closer to them and to God through a sort of Catholic “glue.”
    This school year, as we begin anew, remember to be careful about who we pretend to be. Stay close to the ties that have bound us close in our formative years so that when we branch out we can make decisions that we are passionate and excited about, decisions that will shape our identity in the future.
    Heather Bozant Witcher can be reached at hbozantwitcher@clarionherald.org.