After spending our summers wishing that freshman year had never ended, us sophomores returned to Emory this year with much anticipation. The infamous “sophomore slump” trailed the back of our minds, whether or not we want to admit it. But now that we’re back, we’ve realized that we have the tricks of “college game” down and, most importantly, the ins and outs of Emory up our sleeves.
For those sophomores out there, if you haven’t already realized, this year is already a lot less daunting and nerve racking. While fears of the sophomore slump may exist, here are some reasons to stay positive and also confident about this year.
1. The Friend Group
First things first, your friend group is probably pretty established at this point. You don’t have to worry about finding someone to accompany you to the DUC after your 1 PM class or having a friend to walk back with you from the library after you spent your night procrastinating. Just looking for someone to vent to? You definitely know who to turn to for the best advice. Sure, there might be some drama, but your crew is already over and past those first fights. At the end of the day, you’ve realized they’ll always be by your side.
2. The Food Spots
Feeling hungry? Now, your options expand past the DUC: you now have (what seems like) millions of Dooley Dollars! There’s no question that it’s worth taking the time trek to Highland and waiting on the long line for that panini you have been craving. Further, you know to only eat at Cox on occasion—it’s way too easy to get sick of the salad bar and Pasta Johns. Also, now that so many of your friends have cars, it only makes sense to take a ride to the best places in ATL for all those amazing meals you’ve missed since last semester. Remember: Yogurt Tap is always the right move over Yogli Mogli. Always.
3. Going Out Guru
While the workload isn’t horrible just yet and the excitement over returning to Mags hasn’t faded, you are ready to go out and know exactly what to expect. Rather than waiting in line to get into the frat houses, you simply walk up to your friends at the door and enter the house. Once you’re inside, you know exactly where you are and where to go. The only new thing is that you might not know all the freshmen surrounding you in the houses now that the “social freeze” has subsided. But honestly, who cares? When the frats get boring, you know exactly how to get into Maggie’s. You and Rick are already BFFs, so there’s really nothing to worry about.
4. The Way Around
Running late to class? Honestly, not a big deal anymore – you know all the shortcuts. No more searching on the Emory app to find out where the North Decatur Building is or trying to estimate how long it’ll take you to walk there. It’s hard to forget the struggle of trying to make your Friday 9 AM class you had there last semester, but this year you don’t need to fret about things like that. Also, you already understand the library scene. You know the best places to sit when you want to “do work” and talk at the same time, but you also know that the stacks exist when it’s time to actually study.
5. The Study Scene
As real assignments start back up and with tests are approaching, you might initially get those back to school butterflies, but you quickly realize that it’s not worth it to get stressed out. After all, you carefully managed to plan your schedule to get the classes with the best professors and ensured that you had at least one friend in every class. You’re no longer scared to walk into the first office hours to ask a question or go to those TA sessions before the test. No matter how your freshman year went academically, it gave you a year of experience as a student that’ll certainly help you this year.
The truth is, last year’s freshmen are back and better than ever as sophomores. Sophomores, get ready for an exciting year that, whether you believe it or not, might even top your first one here.