This Junior Added a Class at the Registration Deadline Just to Feel Something

At Penn, it’s easy to get stuck in an uninspired cycle of mindlessly taking graduation and major requirements without ever thinking outside of the box. Nevertheless, a handful of intrepid students use the course shopping period as a time to explore new subjects, skip lectures without repercussions, and sell their spots in popular classes to the highest bidders. But for one junior, adding a class means more than just checking off boxes.

When Neal Perkins (C ‘19) opened PennInTouch on Monday night he didn’t expect to embark on his own personal Odyssey. He gave UTB the inside scoop on his life-changing experience as he pushed aside the piles of empty Red Bull cans and Wawa bags that littered his room.

“I’d just finished eating my 17th halal cart meal of the week and I was psyching myself up for my daily midnight crying session by checking my GPA when my hand slipped and I accidently clicked on the ‘Register for Classes’ button,” Perkins said, with an uncharacteristic and totally undeserved glimmer of hope in his eyes.

It was a moment of heart-pounding drama that Perkins claims he will remember for the rest of his life. “I don’t know what came over me but in that moment I felt like I could do anything, but since I didn’t really feel like leaving my room or putting on pants I decided to register for a new class at the last possible minute.” And unlike the case for Cinderella, Neal’s fairytale didn’t end when the clock struck midnight.

“When I woke up the next day, I felt like a brand new person. I still don’t know what the acronym for FLRP-841-001 stands for or where the class actually meets, but once I figure out all that stuff I’m sure this course is going to be the most fulfilling experience I’ve had at Penn.” Perkins continued by telling us that this was the most exciting thing he’d done at Penn since checking out a book from Fisher Fine Arts, twisting the knife one last time before our interview with him could end.