Great First Day!

If Alexander the Great had enjoyed a first day as general of his army as great as our first day of school, he would not have been content to conquer the world, but would have set his sights on the stars.  As always, it is great to see returning students and to meet our Latin I students.

An upper level student asked me how things went with our first-year classes, and I remarked that the laughed at my jokes.  While it is nice to have an appreciative audience, my pleasure in the reaction was about much more than mere accolades for a comedian.  Laughter indicates a sense of comfort, and on the first day of school, one can hardly ask for more.

A fun and exciting year stretches before us.  There will be the things that legions of Latin students have come to expect...the Spartacus slap, ancient weapons of mass destruction, and life lessons wrapped in laughter.  There will also be new things for all of us to explore.  Some of the students laughed at my excitement over our new technology, but in a couple of classes I paused to encourage them never to lose their sense of wonder.  It is true that I am easily amused.  This is because I find the world an endlessly fascinating place and take true joy in even the humblest discovery.  Hopefully all of us in A526 can taste a bit of that wonder this year.