On Jessica Hall's first day of school as a senior at UF, she forgot her umbrella. So, naturally, it was destined to rain on her way to class.
As she walks briskly through Turlington Plaza, heading to her anthropology class, Hall knows she won't miss the preachers or the people handing out one colorful flier after another when she graduates.
She will miss "the Potato," nestled within a ring of benches in the plaza.
Three years after her first day of school as a freshman, Hall is at ease on campus. Although she still doesn't know most of the street names, she can mark her paths to most of her classes from other buildings that she's been walking past for semesters.
She probably won't get lost going to class this year like she did her freshman and sophomore year.
If you were to rummage through her backpack, you wouldn't find any schoolbooks. She isn't worried about getting them early - she has all week to decide which classes she'll keep and which she'll drop.
She knows the secret about the first day of school that many freshmen don't: Most of the classes you attend and the things your professors say are probably going to change. And there's no reason to stress about it.
"As a freshman, I would've liked to have known that not everything on the first day is set in stone. It's the time period where things are kind of up in the air," she said. "I'm never done changing my schedule until the last day (of drop/add week)."
Hall is more confident now, a seasoned senior walking across a campus full of freshmen clutching maps and wandering aimlessly because they're too embarrassed to ask an upperclassman for directions.
"I don't worry as much about my classes or where I'm going. I just worry less," she said of her senior self. "I know it's not the end of the world."
While Hall feels comfortable slipping into the back-to-school grind, she has her own set of concerns to deal with as a senior.
Hall, a psychology major, wants to go to graduate school to get her Ph.D. in that field. So while this is her last first day of school at UF, she is looking at plenty more first days of school down the line.
Given the state of the economy, however, she is scared by the fact that she might not have any opportunities for employment after graduation. But most seniors seem to feel the same way, she said.
"It's scary to take that leap," she said of graduating. "You have to go out in the real world."
As a freshman, she came to college with the impression from movies she'd seen and people she'd talked to that college was supposed to be the best years of your life.
Much has changed since Hall's freshman year.
She no longer lives in the dormitories on campus, but in an apartment where she feels more independent.
She has learned how to manage her money and handle the administrative hoops she has to jump through to get her financial aid.
Hall may be a senior, but her ride at UF isn't over. She turned 21 on Aug. 20, and she's looking forward to being able to get into the bars and other establishments that were off-limits when she was underaged.
She may be in the twilight of her undergraduate career, but there's still plenty to accomplish before she walks across the stage as a UF graduate.
For seniors and freshmen alike, school is definitely back in session.
