Yesterday, at five different campuses across Central Florida, my 500+ faculty peers, along with a few thousand wonderful adjuncts, welcomed several thousand students to the start of fall term. Other classes will begin today on the 26th. It is the American rite of passage long established where young people head towards a school of some kind to engage in learning. Its a rewarding career to be involved in the creating of the future of the country as we help students move towards adulthood.
One of our core principles is what we call “Start Right.” Now the idea originally here was that we wanted to make sure students and professors knew that the first day of class was as equally important as any other. Sadly, at some schools (and in some classes around Valencia), some professors act like the first day is a throw away class where you just introduce yourself, hand out some papers and disperse. Not so…not only should you do those acts of getting the students ready for the work, and you can certainly get into the actual information of the class, the first day is really critical for letting the students get a philosophical foundation of what all is about to transpire over the next 14-15 weeks.
And yet, the idea of “Start Right” is deeper than just a call to use the first day well. It speaks to how one should approach everything in life. So often, some approach new tasks with halting steps, with little real thought to best practice and casually. Start Right doesn’t mean over-stress on something or be so intense that you somehow make silly mistakes (as can often happen when you over-think or over-stress things), but it does mean to care about the first steps. In some ways, it is related to the old truth about carpentry, “measure twice, cut once”—don’t be casual or so carefree with your first measurement that you mess up, thus wasting wood and needing to start over.
Therein, though, lies a third image of the concept of “Start Right.” What, indeed, if you have made a mistake? What if you didn’t start right? Are you doomed? NO! Often, in my classes, I have found myself with students who are in their late 20s or even early 30s. Often, those students tried college early, flamed out, and had to take time to really find themselves. Many have lamented how tough it is to be taking classes, having to study or write papers, when their peers already have jobs and are living the post-college life. I immediately tell them to not judge themselves too harshly and that they are living their life, not that of their peers.
Ultimately, as I tell them, you are where you are…no need to cry or worry about previous years. This is the place you are and you are still young, not that age matters. So, it is time to “Start Right Again.” Start over. Start again. You can do it. In fact, there is no reason NOT to start again.
You might be that person, confronting a mistake or situation where things didn’t work out as you intended. You can Start Right Again. Or maybe, you’ve been living well generally, and yet now, at your current age of life, something else has caught your eye. Maybe you want to get into real estate in your mid-50s. Perhaps you want to learn to play the guitar or the flute, maybe even try to join a community orchestra or play at your church.
DO IT! You can! Start Right Again. It simply is NEVER too late.