There are some TV commercials I'll just never understand.
Take any commercial for a dairy product: it's either small children giggling and cheering for ice cream, or middle-aged women gleefully consuming low-fat cheese or yogurt.
It's like they're laughing in the face of osteoporosis, and I don't think it's very realistic. Every morning when I sit down to my Greek yogurt, one look at my face would tell you that I was living in strawberry-flavored purgatory.
However there's one advertising campaign that I do relate to, year after year, without fail: back-to-school commercials.
While there are variations, many are pretty similar. A group of energetic and diverse middle school students run through the hallways of their school, sporting plaid skirts and tiny polos. Boy band music blares (is that "Dream Street?") and the kids are acting like it's summer vacation. But alas! They're not excited to leave. They're excited to get back to the hallowed halls of their beloved school.
For as long as I can remember I ended each academic year looking forward to the next. After a few weeks of summer I would already be dreaming of school supplies and my new classes in the fall.
Now, as I'm facing what could be my last first day of school, I'm still as excited as ever. Even though I'm way past the age where jumpers and neon high-socks are appropriate (unless it's a theme party), the same old anticipation never fails.
More than reuniting with some of my favorite friends and traditions, I've always been excited by the concept of a new school year. New books, new classes, new professors and new topics await. As I'm looking at a senior year with few requirements left to fill, this concept of learning new and exciting things is even stronger.
Nevertheless, I've had several classes at DePauw that I've been pretty nervous about. One in particular (a Russian history class) sticks out. The subject was outside of my comfort zone, and I was often displeased by the amount of reading my professor expected.
Nothing has restored that old back-to-school fervor (even though it was January), better than my enthusiastic professor. He not only challenged us to battle the ferocious pages of assigned reading, but pushed us in discussion, challenging us to reconsider our opinions throughout the semester.
Not only did he convey his own passion for the subject, but he inspired us to find pockets of the discipline about which we could become passionate.
This fall, I encourage students of all ages to join me in a renewed excitement for our studies. After a few months away, we can attempt to do a majority of our reading, engage in class discussion and visit professors during their office hours.
I also challenge myself to find something I'm passionate about in each of my classes, no matter how unrelated the subject seems to my usual course of study.
On that same note, I hope professors begin the new school year with an equal amount of enthusiasm. Challenge us to question each other's opinions, ask difficult questions, and allow us the freedom to explore a discipline in a way that is exciting for us as individuals.
More often than not, we'll reciprocate the effort.
—Ayers is a senior political science major from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is the Opinion Editor for The DePauw. opinion@thedepauw.com