That first year for me was scary, a very difficult transition from the cushiony fourth year to the first year alone in the classroom. I wanted the ever constant guidance of my mentor and counselors but I was expected to deal with problems alone. As an in-service student who thought my love for pantomime, drama, music would aid me, I was incredibly self-conscientious.

I felt it was best to hold unto the framework of a lesson plan. After all, the structure made sense, it was something that I could hold unto. It was rudimentary work. Did it follow the formula I was taught of a pre-while and post? Were there transitions? After all, I was only repeating what I was taught to do.

Admittedly, this notion of what is a lesson as I was taught was my crutch. I leaned on it heavily. It came at the expense of developing my own teaching personality. But I had other things to worry about like blending in a cultural classroom that was increasingly becoming threatening to my authority as a new teacher.

Dear teachers, it would take me ten long years to realize something that I am telling you in a few paragraphs.

For someone who never had any experience coming to terms with my authority such as participating in any leadership skills or taking part in any student’s committees in High School, it was hard for me to accept my own authority as a teacher, even now.

That journey started with a 24 year old practice teacher who just wanted to have fun with her students and was crying in front of her fourth year counselor who, through my own shower of tears, told me that I was a teacher.

So on that note, write down your assets and what you believe you are good at. Look at those things that help you connect with the students. A lesson is very dynamic and much of it is personality centered. The minute I learned to enter the classroom without my lesson book in my hand was the day the students were the foreground and not the lesson. The lesson is the means but not the means to the end. Seasoned teachers would call this ’spontaneity.’ On a more profound level, I call it coming to terms with who you are as a person.

We all have to take those giant steps and small to larger risks with the activities we decide to do, and so, here we are and where we have come to be.

So, as a new teacher, you have the authority and you are in charge but in more ways than one.

• Learn the best routes between your residence hall and your classes and activities. Take the safest route, not the fastest route.
• Travel in groups of two or more at night and always walk in well-lit, heavily traveled areas.
• Stay on the part of the sidewalk that is farthest away from shrubs, dark doorways, and alleys.
• Share your class schedule with friends and family, effectively creating a buddy system.
• When you go out, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.
• Know where the emergency telephones are located. (See “Emergency Telephones.”)
• Use the shuttle buses after dark. After the shuttle buses have stopped running, call the Escort Service for a ride. (See “Escort Service.”)
• Wherever you are, stay alert to your surroundings and the actions of people around you.
• Follow your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, change directions, go to an emergency phone or into a public building, or call University Police (5-1111).
• Do not leave your belongings unattended, even for a few minutes.
• Avoid displaying large amounts of cash or other tempting targets such as jewelry or expensive clothing.
• Always lock your bike or rent a bike locker to store your bike.
• Always lock your car and keep valuables out of site. Check the back seat before getting in.
• Park in well-lit, well-traveled areas of the parking lot.
• Memorize the phone number of the University Police Department (5-1111).
• Remember, alcohol and/or drugs are involved in 90 percent of campus crimes.

1) Be the early bird. Start applying for scholarships and lining up low-priced college options right now. “You want to make sure you are the first one in line,” says Cheryl Maplethorpe, director of financial aid for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Many grants are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis, she notes. And many low-cost colleges are cutting off applications especially early this season. College students who haven’t already filled out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid this year should do it as soon as possible. (High school seniors have to wait until January to apply for next fall.) You can search for nongovernmental scholarships by asking your high school counselor, your college’s financial aid office, and your college’s department for scholarship possibilities and advice. Many are also listed on websites like this one, scholarsite.com, or the College Board.

While there aren’t many private scholarships still awarding money for this academic year, students can—and should—start applying now for private scholarships for next year, because some of the biggest and best private scholarships, such as those offered by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, have October deadlines. And the most popular cheap four-year schools in California, including San Diego State University and Sonoma State University, will stop taking next year’s admissions applications for many types of students November 30.

2) Ask the boss. Check with the student’s and parents’ employers to see if they offer any kind of education or scholarship benefit.

3) Try low-cost colleges. Prepare applications (including transfer applications for students already in college) to some low-cost, in-state community colleges and public universities to provide a “financial safety school” option, says Eileen O’Leary, assistant vice president of student financial services at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass. That way, even if you don’t get any free money, your bills still will be much lower.

4) Become a catch. Prepare applications to at least two (or even more, to increase your chances of setting off a scholarship bidding war) public and private schools for which you’d be a catch because of higher-than-average grades or some special skill or talent. Students whose grades or test scores are higher than the school’s average have a good chance of receiving merit grants. “Put as much detail as possible into your college application,” says Sandra Bartholomew, dean of enrollment management at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt. “Colleges have money to award for lots of nonacademic credentials” like leadership, community service, environmentalism, visual and performing arts, etc., she adds.

5) Fill out forms in January. As soon as possible in January, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to qualify for aid next fall. While it is easier to complete the form if the student and parent have also filed their taxes, it is better to fill out the FAFSA with estimates (which can later be corrected) early than to wait past February 1. Students hoping to attend one of the approximately 300 schools that also require the College Board’s more exhaustive CSS/Financial Aid Profile application should also complete that before mid-February.

6) Appeal. Draft an appeal letter if the student has any financial difficulties not covered by the FAFSA, such as a parent’s job loss or mortgage problems. The student should send letters explaining the problem (with documentation, if possible) to any target schools and private scholarship programs, financial aid officers say. The letter to schools should request a “professional judgment review.”