# Fear of Walking in Late to Class



## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

I'm going to have to skip my art history class today because I would have been about five minutes late to class. The lecture would have started already, the lights would be off, and then I'd walk in and disrupt everyone and everyone would stare at me and it would be awful. 

Am I the only one who has a fear of being late to class?


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

Actually, it the lights were off, fewer people were likely to notice. But yeah, when I was in college, I always feared walking in late. I found it to be good incentive to not be late, though :lol


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

kikachuck said:


> Actually, it the lights were off, fewer people were likely to notice. But yeah, when I was in college, I always feared walking in late. I found it to be good incentive to not be late, though :lol


No, it would've been worse. When the door opened, it would've been incredibly distracting to everyone because the light would get in...


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

I'm freaked out by walking in late. I'm usually the first one to get to class!

I skipped a class once because I didn't want to walk in late. I felt bad about it later, though.


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## shelovescliche (Dec 17, 2006)

In high school I always made sure to head straight to my next class. I'd be one of the first people there, but I hated walking in when a lot of people were already in the room. I suspect I'll do the same thing at college, too.


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## Ignivomous (Mar 31, 2008)

It's definitely an uncomfortable situation to be in, and a frequent one for me since I'm rarely on time, but I've yet to skip a class because of it. It's only a few seconds of having all eyes on me, so I usually just bear with it. I just hope it doesn't happen one day when there are no more seats available.


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## fiktion95 (Aug 31, 2008)

I ride the bus to school (college bus system) and am so afraid of being late I get to the bus stop an hour before my class starts even though it only takes 10-15 minutes to get to campus, so I'm always 40ish minutes early to my classes. Also I had a math class I would have been 3-4 minutes late for but just skipped because I didnt want to make noise or have to shuffle through a row of seats to sit down in the middle of lecture.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

The first time I was late to a class I almost didn't go in, but then some more late people showed up so I just followed them. 
I've walked into class late since then, its not really a big deal. Especially if you walk in with someone else.


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## Nickel (Aug 23, 2008)

I don't like being late but I'm used to it so it doesn't bother me too much any more.


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## xTrappedx (Aug 28, 2008)

...ah this is the same for me...but I'd feel guilty if I skipped class (but if I was REALLY late, sure I wouldn't go)...I take the transit to school and it takes so long, like an hour, and I'm NOT a morning person, so about 50% of the time i'm late...maybe like 5-10 minutes.....it's so embarrassing especially when you sit in the middle row, and everyone turns around...to look when you come in.


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## xTrappedx (Aug 28, 2008)

Nickel said:


> I don't like being late but I'm used to it so it doesn't bother me too much any more.


haha you phrased it perfectly...especially my first year in college, last year, I was always late, and I wasn't familiar with the public transit time schedules....I think the number of times I arrived tardy>then the number of times I arrived on or before time....yikes..good thing my teachers were cool!


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## Spring (Feb 4, 2008)

Yeah I hate being late for class with all the people looking at me, especially when the teacher is like, 'and why are you late?' Like today I was five minutes late for art class and the teacher got all pissy about it, but I managed to hide behind my friend lol..


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## TorLin (Nov 14, 2006)

the best idea is never be late to class, always try to get there early


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

Well, I'm not _trying_ to be late. It just _happens._


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## SAgirl (Nov 15, 2003)

Get yourself a watch and be sure to show up 15 minutes early for each class so that you never have to be late again. There are barely any clocks at our university so watches are important.


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## VerbalHologram (Feb 19, 2007)

i had to skip my first class this year because parking was horrid and i was 5 minutes late :eyes


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## CandySays (Apr 6, 2008)

Phew. Luckliy, this is one thing I've managed to 'get over'.


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## Nickel (Aug 23, 2008)

Sometimes you can't help but be late like when you have a class scheduled 10 minutes after another. Theoretically you can make it in time but in reality there are mobs of people standing outside of your lecture hall that don't seem to grasp the concept of "in order for new people to enter the room some people must leave". It took me about 5 minutes to get out of the room and 5 minutes to run to my next class. Luckily teachers are pretty nice about this except my art teacher who thinks it's perfectly fine for him to arrive 30 minutes late to class because he has the New York school of teaching and that's what they do, but heaven forbid a student comes a minute late. He makes our teaching assistant get here on time too.


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## Cmwright (May 12, 2008)

I used to be like this also. I am rarely like this now though.


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## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

Better late than never, I say! People walk into my classes late all the time. Nobody really cares! I'm frequently late as well. I kind of enjoy the mini-adrenaline rush, to be honest. :b


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## syphilitic_monarch (Nov 6, 2007)

One of my lectures immediately follows another, and is quite a distance away on campus. Even walking quickly I only get there just as the lecture is beginning. It's also a massive lecture and almost every seat is filled by the time I arrive, so of course the few remaining seats are right up front. As long as i don't look into the eyes of any of those 160~ people watching me as I descend to the front, I'm OK.


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## trini_ria (Sep 12, 2008)

its funny ... when i used to be in larger classes i didnt mind being late but now that i'm in a class with just about 20 people i would typically miss a class if i knew i would be late .... before knowing about SA i never knew other pple felt like this ..... i know its counterproductive to just avoid the class tho


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## luminary_pustule (Sep 21, 2008)

Haha... I hate this. Same as the OC, Art History in college. I get the bus in every day and the traffic is terrible so I can't do anything about being late. I had to walk in 10 mins late but luckily no one reacted that much and loads of people came in even later so I felt like the attention wasn't on me so much. In school I just didn't go if I was more than 10 mins late...


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## Ohms (Sep 26, 2008)

I pretty much hate being late to any kind of event where there is a large gathering of people and always make a point of getting to everything nice and early, especially school. 

I remember on my very first day of college, my car broke down on the way there so I had to catch a ride and I was like 20 minutes late. I was dreading opening the door, but the first day is kind of important and I really didnt want to miss anything. So I went in, and of course with my luck, the class is totally packed and there are no seats so the teacher has to stop teaching and get me a chair right in the very front of the class while I stand there awkward for like 3 minutes with all eyes on me. Worst case of being late i've had in a loooong time.


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## imt (Sep 22, 2008)

Last year was my worst when it came to my lateness problem. It sucks having everyone look at you and having the teacher constantly making remarks about lateness because of you. I coped with it though. I had no other choice but to deal with it. If I was late, then that was that. I couldn't really do much about it. I still deal with it this year but less than before.


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## LilA67 (Jan 14, 2011)

This is probably my worst problem, personally.

What has gotten me through the last week (not skipping) is dragging myself in a HALF HOUR LATE, and ONLY because I asked myself *"What if this is the difference between being dropped from this class, or NOT being dropped and staring at the floor and feeling extremely sick and upset for about two hours???"*

I promise you, after having to fight for my own sake (two semesters ago) and losing all my dignity by admitting my mental and health conditions in order to justify staying in a class I was actually passing...the question above is my life-saver I came up with a week ago.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

You have to assess the likelihood of anything severely humiliating happening like this.
In all of the time I was in college, even with seating otherwise, there has never been a problem with people coming in late.


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## room101 (Nov 5, 2010)

Ah LilA67, I was going to resurrect this thread but you beat me to it.

It seems pretty silly to skip not just lectures but also quizzes and midterms because you're only 5 minutes late, right? Right.. but I can't get it through my head that it's really not a big deal and now I have to drop yet another course this semester :sigh

And whose brilliant idea was it to situate doors at the FRONT of the auditorium?! Seriously :wife


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## LilA67 (Jan 14, 2011)

Room101, I can't tell if I said something that pushed a button, but I apologize if I have.

I did have to fight to retroactively drop two courses a semester ago. I had to fight through medical documentation of my chronic medical condition (which was horribly affecting me, along with SA).

The other day, I did have a visualization of telling my family I was dropped from a course due to...SA (or any lie I've been known to make up, even though they know my problems) and I even saw how they would say "Well, another semester is okay...don't beat yourself up, you've gone through so much the past few years" 
(Mind you, I'm 23 and supposed to be a Senior, counting my credits, but I'm stuck here with pre-/co-requisites until Dec 2012)

And I decided to go on into class. No confidence, but a slight glance toward my professor, then staring at the floor as I walked to the back, then sitting down and staring at the powerpoint for an hour.

*It's not easy. I did die a little inside...or left my body, whatever it was. I just zoned out. But there was a check on my attendance. *

It's a bunch of bull****, but it's one less empty-check to drop me from an upper-level class towards finally getting out of here and doing what I really want to do: work with children in preschool and have the smaller challenge of talking to parents about their children. This is one of the things I'm best at.

Sorry, that was kind of some venting in there...or something, *but if I (a person who's hit rock bottom at least twice in the past 4 months) can do it, I KNOW anyone can. *


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## room101 (Nov 5, 2010)

LilA67 said:


> Room101, I can't tell if I said something that pushed a button, but I apologize if I have.


Apologize? No, not at all. I'm disappointed in myself, that's it. But I'm glad at least one of us has managed to push through.


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## sherbert (Jun 24, 2005)

Some professors can be total di(ks about tardiness. I had one who would make snide remarks when people arrived more than ten minutes late. He had a sharp tongue. 


While I expect them to take me seriously as a student, I would hope that they're willing to be lenient on certain aspects. Sometimes being late is just unavoidable. There are just too many variables when it comes to attendance. Still, I make the effort to show up on time.


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## ak2218 (Nov 21, 2010)

wow so guess im not the only one, I use to hover around the door and just not go in... it came to a point where my absences would force me to drop classes 

ha yeah totally feel u on this


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## Miami (Jul 21, 2009)

I'm always early to class to avoid this!


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## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

bezoomny said:


> I'm going to have to skip my art history class today because I would have been about five minutes late to class. The lecture would have started already, the lights would be off, and then I'd walk in and disrupt everyone and everyone would stare at me and it would be awful.
> 
> Am I the only one who has a fear of being late to class?


I hear ya. Actually that was the first sign for my old housemate - she developed this fear and it blossomed into a generalized anxiety disorder. (I've had that since age 16) I'm pretty familiar with that. If I get there late, I'll turn right around and leave. No way am I entering a lecture hall with 300 students and be the only person moving!


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## BluePhoenix54 (Sep 20, 2010)

I always hated when this happened so I always tried to leave my last class as quickly as possible to get to my next class early. Also for some reason, every class i've been in, 50% of the people look at the door whenever it opened. No way i'd want that to happen to me. It's worse when the teacher calls you out for being late which brings nothing but more unwanted attention. :|


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## mezzoforte (May 16, 2010)

I'm late pretty much everyday to my first class, lol. It feels a little awkward because I know people turn and look at me when I walk in (including my teacher). >< But I just quickly walk to my seat, staring at the ground the whole time.


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## cafune (Jan 11, 2011)

mezzoforte said:


> *I'm late pretty much everyday to my first class, lol.* It feels a little awkward because I know people turn and look at me when I walk in (including my teacher). >< But I just quickly walk to my seat, staring at the ground the whole time.


Yup, same here. It's 'cause I'm late to _everything_. My biology teacher actually called me out on it too, most of the time, the teachers just let you walk in though. I used to mutter an apology, but if you apologize, you're basically saying that it won't happen again, which is why I stopped apologizing... :?


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## Jamipat (Dec 2, 2011)

For my Cosmology lecture every Tuesday, I usually try my best never to be late for that lecture as it is normally packed. This prevents me from having to spend time walking around searching for an available seat while everyone is seated and lectures are ongoing.


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## Help please (Dec 9, 2011)

What I do Is say I'm sorry I'm late before they can say anything, that way they kinda look a bit insensitive if they shout, so they aren't as harsh


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## Blawnka (Dec 12, 2011)

When I was in school, I didn't like being late at all very much, it basically makes you the center of attention, even though it's only brief.


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## b613 (Dec 19, 2011)

I thought I was one of the few with this problem. I usually just skip class if I know I'm going to be late because I literally break out in a sweat if I have to walk into a class late because I'm so nervous to. Some of my professors like to single out people that disrupt the class, soo I'd rather avoid that possibility all together.


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## Brad (Dec 27, 2011)

yea, id skip all classes i was late to, even if it was by like 1 minute


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## Retronia (Dec 18, 2011)

I was never late, I was always too early


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