That professor whose course was impossible to get into.
THAT PROFESSOR WHOSE COURSE WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET INTO.
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Every one of us, whether we walked these historic pathways decades ago or just recently, remembers them. That professor. The one whose course was more coveted than a lottery ticket, whose name whispered through study groups and lecture halls like an academic myth. You tried. We all did. The frantic refresh of the course catalog, the polite (or desperate) emails, the pilgrimage to office hours hoping for a miracle add code.
It wasn't about a grade or fulfilling a requirement. It was about an experience. A chance to sit at the feet of a true titan, a mind so brilliant, so singular, that their insights promised to fundamentally shift your worldview. They weren't just teaching a subject; they were performing. They curated a journey. Those who did get in spoke of it with reverence usually reserved for spiritual awakenings. Their notes became sacred texts, their anecdotes campus lore.
Perhaps you were one of the lucky few. You navigated the impossible waitlists, secured that golden spot, and emerged transformed. Or perhaps, like many of us, you never made it past the waitlist, forever wondering what intellectual treasures lay behind those closed classroom doors. Yet, even in not getting in, there was a lesson: the recognition of true intellectual passion, the value placed on profound learning, and the shared aspiration for true exceptionalism. These professors weren't just educators; they were the architects of our academic dreams, reminding us what true brilliance looked like, even if from a distance.