Week one of school never seems like it will be a lot of work, but it really is.
Before the week starts, you think, “Syllabus week? More like a whole week to do nothing.”
Underclassmen have spent the weekend mapping out routes to class and making sure they don’t get lost, while upperclassmen screenshot their schedule on their phone the night before the first day.
I try to convince myself of this every year and yet still end up surprised by the workload I have. Don’t get me wrong: Week 11 is a lot harder when deep in the semester trying to balance work, school and social life. But week one brings its own set of challenges.
Even though I am a senior, I still get nervous on the first day. I have that minor panic that I am in the wrong class and will have to awkwardly leave when the professor starts going through the syllabus.
While going through syllabi on the first couple of days, you start to contemplate a lot of things about how the semester will look for you. Will this class be easy? Hard? Nothing you were expecting? Do you really have to buy the textbook?
It also comes all crashing down that summer is officially over in only a few short days.
You spent Welcome Weekend enjoying catching up with friends and doing all the things you missed in Athens. You even try to continue the fun during the week after classes with the small nagging in the back of your mind that you might not be able to do this in a few weeks.
After the first couple of days, you have textbooks to pay for, homework to do and the reality of school comes crashing back.
Outside of class, you’re trying to figure out how to get into this new routine after being away all summer. For me, this includes trying to figure out how to be editor-in-chief.
I’ve worked at The Post since freshman year. I have watched former editors do this job and was even trained last year for this. I planned on coming in knowing what I would be doing, but one thing I have learned is that nothing ever usually goes as planned.
I have so many to do lists that my head is spinning. I write at least five a day on my computer, phone, planner or desk. I have been out of the school routine for a while, so I am trying my best to get everything organized.
I also am writing the editor’s desk every week, which is unlike things I have written before. I am used to gathering facts and putting them in a news story that isn’t from my standpoint. Now, I have to gather the facts from my mind and put them in first person, which is a lot harder than it seems.
I am trying my best at all this as well as I know my staff is. My staff is trying to figure out their roles as well, and starting out as an editor or writer can be overwhelming.
We are each figuring out what we need to do and find the best ways to balance it all.
So please bear with us for the time being. We know things will be running smoothly soon.
Ellen Wagner is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University and the editor-in-chief of The Post. Have questions? Email Ellen at ew047615@ohio.edu or tweet her @ewagner19.
