FDOC

Remember when TigerBlog wrote about his two young colleagues Alex and Joanna? 

Well, they sit in the outer area of the Office of Athletic Communications on E Level of Jadwin Gym, and they've started a tradition of writing an "OAC Question of the Day" on a small white board. The question yesterday was "what was your FDOC outfit?"

It took TigerBlog a few seconds to realize that they meant "First Day of Classes." Then he pointed out that his FDOC was nearly 45 years ago.

If he had to guess, TB would say that he wore jeans, high-top sneakers and a white button down shirt. That was his go-to look for pretty much all of the 1970s and 1980s. 

He forgot to mention to them that he also had long hair, parted in the middle and feathered back. Again, you had to be there back then to really understand.

Yesterday was the FDOC at Princeton.

Alex, Joanna and a few others were outside of Jadwin, offering snacks and Princeton stuff to athletes as they walked by, asking them if they would like to be part of the "First Day Of Classes" photoshoot. 

TigerBlog remembers what his first class of his freshman year was — a political science class on the history of the Supreme Court. Back then he wanted to be a lawyer, so it seemed to make sense.

The class was held in the University Museum at Penn, opposite Franklin Field. He can still remember more than anything else the smell of the tarring of Spruce Street as he walked down towards the museum. That smell, which is a fairly common one, has always, 100 percent of the time in all the years since, taken TB back to that moment.

If he knew what the future held, he would have worn something that said either "Princeton Lacrosse" or "Princeton Field Hockey." Of course, they were both sports he hadn't yet seen back when he first started college. 

For the first day of classes, the Department of Public Safety produced a very cute video promoting campus safety. It stars Lieutenant Sean Ryder, who in addition to his community relations role is one of the biggest Tiger sports fans you'll ever see. 

Here is the video:

Clever, right? 

TigerBlog spent some time on the campus yesterday. In contrast to the summer calm, it was obviously a bustling place. 

At one point, he stood outside a classroom that had an open window and heard a few moments of the opening lecture. He also saw classrooms that were emptying, including one where he heard something that had to have been repeated often yesterday: 

"Nice to meet you. What is your name?"

Some of those relationships will last forever. Most won't, but some will.

For the athletes of Princeton, yesterday was a reminder of why they chose to come here in the first place. It's a chance to mix a great athletic experience (you know, three Olympic gold medalists, professional athletes, that sort of thing) with being at the No. 1 academic school in the country.

It's a challenge, to be sure. Going through Princeton in both counts is not easy. To make it through is a great achievement. 

TigerBlog calls it "The Finish Line." He saw his own daughter go through what all of the current students, especially freshmen, have just bitten off. 

The entire time she was at Princeton, TB just kept hoping that she'd make it to the Finish Line, the FL, as it were, if the First Day of Classes is the FDOC. 

There were tough nights athletically and academically. There were doubts. There were tears. There was all of that. 

In the end, every minute of it added together to create the experience that is Princeton. And when she did get to the Finish Line, as a four-time women's lacrosse letterwinner on top of a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering degree, well, nobody has ever earned it or deserved it more.

And so that is what TB wishes for every Princeton student who had the FDOC yesterday. 

Get to the FL. 

And, like Miss TigerBlog, make sure you cherish the journey. It will pay huge dividends for the rest of your life.