The Most Wonderful Day of the Year!

It’s that time of year again—registration! Words cannot express my exuberance yesterday morning when I was able to sign up for fall classes. Even more than actually registering for classes, I revel in the weeks beforehand, when course offerings become available on Web Advisor and I am finally allowed to begin the meticulous process of putting together possible schedules. Is it nutty that I had dozens of color-coded charts and schedules, each with different possibilities for my academic life next semester? Is it weird that when I met with my advisor she didn’t even have to look and see when other classes were offered because I had their times memorized?

Perhaps I did enjoy the whole process a little too much, but this semester was truly the most fun to plan. When I registered for classes last fall and spring, I was double majoring and minoring. This made for a daunting, near impossible task as I struggled to cram so many hours of classes for one major with so many hours of classes for another, plus something for the minor, and let’s not forget honors or general education requirements. But this semester, after realizing I bit off more than I could chew and cutting back a tad, although still a challenge, it was at least doable.

You have to admit, it’s a challenge—especially at a small school that’s trying to minimize sections—to make a schedule that includes everything you need to take, but has no conflicts and does not require you to take nine hours of consecutive classes in a single day. It can be difficult, but that’s why I like it. Schedule-making is like one of those Sudoku puzzles, trying to fit everything together perfectly in the right order, with nothing overlapping or missing. And then, when finally everything is just right, you have that “I got it!” moment. Ah, sweet loveliness.

Happy Registration Week to all of you Angels! I hope you get all of the classes you need.