Guess who is back, ladies … It’s me, Soph Strugs (a.k.a. Freshmen Problems). I’m like Gossip Girl: you may think I’m gone, but, friends, I have only disappeared for the summer. I told you football season would roll around before we knew it. And here it is. It’s time for WFU Round Two. Time to welcome the “fresh meat” and flaunt my sophomore status.
Ah, it’s good to be back. All summer I was itching to return to the 336. Having this campus back in the palm of my hand has been sweeter than I ever imagined in my endless summer daydreams. I relish in all the reunions with friends that became family last year. Living without them over the summer was practically unbearable. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of your best friends from freshman year becoming your suitemates, or checking out Wait Chapel in the evening, shining like the North Star.
I missed Wake. As soon as summer school ended and I returned to my hometown, I could feel the separation anxiety setting in. I couldn’t help but count down the weeks until I could come back to where I consider my true home: Wake Forest University. There’s something special about this place. It’s good to be back.
Although stress is not something I generally look forward to, I was excited to stand in line at the bookstore, killing my arm muscles by carrying a mountain of books just begging to be read and studied. That’s why we are here: to learn and to grow. On the first day of my English class last week, I found myself smiling as I scribbled away at my notes. I have a passion for learning and am a self-diagnosed Word Nerd. I’m so fortunate to get to take classes in areas of my interest, and to be among peers who share that passion with me.
And let’s not forget mixers. Even though “syllabus week” doesn’t seem to exist at Work Forest, students do know how to work-hard-play-hard. Think it’s possible to get “Twerk Forest” to start trending? Going out these past couple of weeks has been so special and fun, with all the mingling, running into friends, catching up, and realizing how much I missed them. Sometimes, it shocks me how much I can talk. Let me correct myself: sometimes it shocks me how much I can talk to people at Wake.
I’ve only been back a few days and I already feel right at home – back into the swing of things. I feel like I never left for summer break.
Freshman year was the best year of my life, and I am so fortunate for that. I can’t wait to see what sophomore year holds in this glorious bubble of red brick buildings.