THIS is College?

So, today I get to class right on time. I like to sit in the front and towards the end of the row. I make sure that I am early enough to class to 1) ensure that there is a seat available like that and 2) to not disturb anyone by walking in late as I try to find a seat in the front.

Today I was able to sit right in the second row, and on the end. I settle in and the professor starts the lecture. About 10 minutes after class starts, I hear someone come in and sit right behind me in the third row. Immediately after I heard this person sit down, I smelled a very strong odor which I assumed was their breakfast.

Ok- it's one thing to bring your meal to class. It's another thing to bring your very pungent meal to class and sit by a bunch of people in the front. IF I ever bring anything to eat in class, I make sure to sit away from people so they don't hear me eat, and to not bring in something that will smell so that everyone doesn't smell what I'm eating. On top of that, this person proceeds to crinkle some sort of wrapper for TWO MINUTES, as if there were some sort of issue going on which made them unable to get the food out of the wrapper. This was the loudest crinkling of paper I had ever heard.

Then, they proceed to eat whatever it was they had brought to class. Not only am I smelling it, I am hearing them eat AS they CONTINUE to crinkle the paper.

What. The. Hell.

This story brings up something that I have been mulling over for a few weeks now. I have been observing my fellow classmates since I have returned to school this last fall and I have not been left with a very pleasant impression. Maybe it's because I am older than a good portion of them? But I'm not even sure if that's it... there are a LOT of people who are my age or older attending PSU. In fact, the average age for a PSU student is 27. That's how old I am. And after class was over and I was able to look at the gross person sitting behind me, I observed that she was about my age.

The issue I have been having is that for the past few months, I have observed the following:

• People picking their nose in class and wiping it on their clothes (more than one person, and on more than one occasion)
• People talking extremely loudly while the professor is talking- so much that the professor had to stop and ask them to be quiet. AND THEN THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO TELL THE PROFESSOR WHY THEY WERE TALKING AS IF THEY WERE JUSTIFIED.
• A question and answer discussion last for at least 10 minutes because the majority of the class did not know how to write a 3 page APA style paper.
• Someone's cell phone go off in class, twice. In a 2 minute time span. And they laughed when it went off the second time.
• Someone answer their cell phone and have a short conversation on it after the professor passed out an exam
• Someone showing up to an exam at 10:00 smelling like alcohol

I think that's about it. This term has had a bit more of these occurrences for some reason, and particularly more so in my Human Development class. I'm not sure why. OH! Something else I have noticed lately, is how much middle aged women (like in their late 40's) love to sit in the front of the class and comment incessantly. They just LOVE to talk about themselves. And their children. I hope I never get like that. But, hopefully I'll be out of college before I reach that age.