College is one of those times where everything moves in the blink of an eye. Every year feels like a new adventure, constantly introducing new experiences and versions of yourself. As a third-year student reflecting on this past year, I’ve realized just how much my life has changed.
After a rambunctiously fun freshman year and a busy, involved sophomore year, I was riding a complete high. I had matured enough to learn from my mistakes, figured out my friend group, knew my way around both the party and academic scenes, and successfully integrated myself into the UCSB community.
I went from living in the dorms my first year to living in a sorority house my second year. Becoming an upperclassman felt exciting. I imagined having more independence, my own place, and a stronger sense of community in Isla Vista.
But when I actually found myself settling into my third year, something felt… weird. I felt myself begin an awkward learning stage. Here’s some of the biggest changes I’ve noticed as a transitioning upperclassmen.
I’m a horrible cook
Quick disclaimer: I had the privilege of never having to make my own meals until this year! It made me realize how lucky I was to have a sorority house chef with meals available three times a day. I found myself in a constant debacle of what kind of protein to get. Let’s just say there was lots of trial and error as I found myself to be a mediocre cook at best.
My best tips for making cooking fun and achievable for fellow non-cooks like me is finding TikTok recipes, and always making meals with friends. I try to do a joint dinner with my sorority big every Tuesday night!
GE’s no more
My academic life seemed to get a lot harder as a junior. I think back to freshman and sophomore year, and I can candidly admit that skipping lectures was completely normalized. Now, I find myself not missing a single class as lecture is either mandatory, or I just find it more important to go.
Honestly, I’ve shamelessly become way more of a nerd. It’s cool to care about class and push yourself for success. If you can, I would highly recommend taking classes with your friends, as I’ve learned it really motivates me to try my best in courses.
from the frats to the bars
A major change I’ve discovered is that going out looks a lot different. When I think back to my lowerclassmen self, I was attending every fraternity party each weekend, a sort of ritual for a lot of UCSB students. My circle was completely centered around Greek Life. I was looking forward to a change in my junior and senior year, except I have interestingly realized that it stayed the same.
As a 20-year-old not quite ready for the bars, I attended a lot of house parties in exchange for going out, except I realized the circle remained small, and centered around Greek Life. It is a cool notion that Greek Life at UCSB does create a lot of familiar faces, and it is comforting at times. Yet at the same time, I felt ready for a change, like a part of myself was outgrowing an old phase of my life.
However, when I finally entered the highly anticipated bar scene, I realized that maybe it’s not all I made it out to be. It’s expensive, hectic, and the guys there aren’t exactly “better” than frat men (sorry to disappoint, but there are still some womanizers). In all, I’m glad that there is a new environment that I am sure I will enjoy more of in my senior year.
my body feels different
On the topic of going out, I’ve honestly learned that it’s a taxing pastime for my body. I’ve definitely become more conscious of what I put into my body, keeping my other responsibilities in mind. Also, I’ve struggled with staying active among a busy class and work schedule.
My RecCen visits seem to wane every time midterms roll around in the corner. I find it hard to build consistency with my workouts.
Because of this, one of my friends and I have decided to hold each other accountable this summer by joining ClassPass and trying different workout classes together. We’re hoping that investing in something as a team will help us stay motivated and create healthier routines going into our senior year.
life gets real
Unfortunately, being an upperclassman means a year or two until you leave the paradise that is Isla Vista. Resume building is constantly on my mind, as getting a job is significantly harder than it seems. Even though this is a stressful time, resume building has given me some amazing experiences!
I found myself becoming more involved in communities on-and-off campus. My job has allowed me to meet new people I would have otherwise never met. Also, joining Her Campus has given me the most amazing creative outlet, and reignited my love of creative writing! Although it’s hard, I’ve been loving the ability to experience these changes and become more involved while I’m in college!
Maybe these are just original experiences of mine, but I’ve had a lot of heart to hearts with other third-year students who feel the same way. It might be partly unspoken, but growing up (even a few grades) is hard in college! Change is never easy, but it is the only way we are able to grow.
Balancing, work, school, social life, and health is never going to be an easy feat, and I’m realizing that learning how to manage all of those things is part of becoming an adult. Still, I think there’s something rewarding about pushing through uncertainty and change.
If everything came easily, success would not feel nearly as meaningful. So this is a shoutout to all those third-year students still figuring it out as they go. We’ve got this!