We all have that favorite pair of jeans. Somewhere in our closet full of five-year-old graphic tees and questionably bought snakeskin booties, there hangs the holy grail of pants. The perfect fit, style, the “would be fully content living my life in just these jeans.”
Well, now imagine this: what if you came home one day and those jeans didn’t fit anymore? No matter how hard you pulled, jumped or yanked, no amount of your magic jean shimmy was getting these pants on. In this moment of utter horror and sadness, I’m sure you would begin to wonder how this is possible and tell yourself it couldn’t be; these jeans fit just PERFECTLY a few weeks ago.
After the first few weeks of my sophomore year, that was precisely how I began to feel. My freshman year was a breeze; I had the perfect balance of easy classes, an after-school job I loved, plans to go out with friends and even a little bit of time for a Netflix binge or two. Fast-forward to sophomore year, where I had the same types of classes, same job, same friends, and yet nothing was the same.
As classes began to speed up, I quickly realized this wasn’t basic college algebra, and I would most definitely not be able to pass these classes solely by recalling my knowledge from high school. My job that I once loved had transformed into a burden that was beginning to drag behind, and going out with my friends seemed more like a chore rather than fun. I was tired, overwhelmed and on the verge of a complete Britney Spears meltdown circa 2001.
That’s when I realized this: I had been trying to fit my freshman year life into my sophomore schedule. I was trying that magic shimmy to pull, jump and yank a lifestyle into a schedule that didn’t fit. At first, I had that same initial thought of “How can this not fit? Everything was PERFECT last year.” But that’s the thing—last year isn’t supposed to fit into this year; that defeats the whole purpose. If every year fit into last year’s constraints, where would we grow? We wouldn’t.
Shortly after I stumbled upon this realization, I began to adjust my lifestyle to fit my new schedule. And yes, it wasn’t the exact same, but it was better. I begin to find time for new experiences and new people while still holding on to all those I had loved from the year before.
So, if in this new season of life, you’re feeling overwhelmed and frustrated that you just can’t seem to make it all fit, throw it out. Change it up. College is a time to grow and discover who you truly are, which can’t be done if every year is the exact same. So, like that favorite pair of jeans we desperately wanted to fit, sometimes they just don’t. So, we fold them up, set them away, and begin to search for that new perfect pair.