Strange guest speaker alert…
Before starting high school, we had an orientation that I thought would be pretty typical—just a tour of the campus and some guidance on our classes. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
As soon as everyone settled in, this eccentric guest speaker, claiming to be a DJ, took the stage. I figured it would be entertaining, but instead, he rambled for about 15 minutes before asking us to form a circle for some “team-building activities.” But these weren’t your run-of-the-mill icebreakers; they were downright bizarre. He began with lighthearted questions, like “Take a step forward if you like waffles.” Pretty harmless, right? But then things took a sharp turn into the uncomfortable zone. He asked us about serious family issues, like “Take a step forward if a family member is currently in prison.”
What?!
We all exchanged awkward glances and chuckled nervously. Then he moved on to questions about divorce, and then he asked how many of us had ever faced racial discrimination—a question that seemed out of place in a circle of mostly white students. And it kept going! He asked if anyone had ever discriminated against someone else, cyberbullied, or physically harmed someone.
Seriously? What was happening?
I understood he was trying to build a sense of community, but I just wanted to find my classes! Eventually, we got a break for pizza, and that’s when my friend and I decided to bail. We called our parents to pick us up, laughing at the absurdity of it all. When I checked in with classmates who stuck around, they mentioned they only had about 15 minutes at the very end to locate their classes. I’m so glad we didn’t stay for that!
Wow, that sounds like quite the experience! It’s definitely unexpected for an orientation to take such a deep and personal turn right off the bat. I can understand why you and your friend chose to leave—it’s one thing to build community, but it sounds like it crossed a line into really uncomfortable territory for a lot of people.
It’s great to start the year with a sense of connection, but when you’re just trying to find your classes and get the lay of the land, sharing intimate details about personal lives isn’t exactly what you signed up for. Hopefully, the school takes note of how that went down and finds a better balance next time! At least you got some pizza out of it, right?