This semester has brought a lot of changes (hopefully for the better, though it remains to be seen) to my academic life – the most notable of which is my transition into the elite ‘upperclassman’ category. Here is what I’ve noticed:
I now look at freshmen with amusement… and pity. My roommates and I spent one night during freshman orientation (of which I recently wrote an article) on my porch witnessing the freshmen crawl – it was more dramatic than Jersey Shore. Note – Colorado State University is very far away from resembling anything you could find on MTV (although we had a rep on the Real World DC – this is somewhat a shameful acknowledgement for most of my fellow students) so this was very strange.
After successfully completing the first week of classes, I have more homework this weekend than I had during midterms last semester. This is not a good sign, and I’m already rethinking my procrastination strategies.
I’m equally discouraged and excited by my classes. Some of my hardest classes have me sweating just by looking at the syllabus, but I surprisingly can’t wait for some of the lectures and projects. Weird! Today I chose a topic for an upcoming paper in my Ethnic Lit class and was really thrilled about it – now, I like to write, but this was a new and somewhat terrifying feeling. Now that I’m only taking classes in my areas of interest, I can’t wait to learn even though it’s all very daunting.
So, for better or worse, here is to junior year! I’m looking forward to it – because with it comes one very special birthday celebration – next stop: 21!