First semester freshman year is exciting. New school, new friends, freedom, and independence – what’s not to love? Second semester freshman year is even better. You come back from winter break with a solid group of friends and don’t find yourself totally lost when walking around campus. Summer was a taste of the good life; your mom missed you so badly you were basically treated like royalty at home. You ate warm, home-cooked meals, always had clean clothes, and got to sleep in every morning.
And then it happens – sophomore year. You’re not new anymore, but the awkward middle child of college. You’re nowhere close to graduating and seeing that light at the end of the tunnel that is getting out of this place in four years (a lot of us are already starting to give up on that one), and you’re not close enough to the beginning of college to want to completely give up and go home. You’re not a freshman trying to follow a map of campus on their phone, but also not a junior or senior who actually has to start thinking about their life plan. You, my friend, have arrived at an important milestone in your college career. The fabled sophomore slump.
Literally out of nowhere you lose all motivation. Papers are written hours before they’re due. You need copious amounts of caffeine to study for tests. Cancelled classes are literally prayers answered from the heavens, and you cry when exams are pushed back. Forget the “freshman fifteen” – sophomore year has no limits on weight gain. After a year of adjusting to the intestinal roller coaster that is cafeteria food, you are now responsible for feeding yourself for the first time in your life which becomes more of a challenge than a reward. You know the milk in the back of the fridge has to be rotten by now, but you let it sleep until someone else is forced into action by the torturous smell. Half your friend group is getting engaged or having babies while the other half is graduating high school. After a year of wandering aimlessly, you are smacked in the face with declarations of majors and deadlines for study abroad applications. You’re getting into classes for your major, and are suddenly realizing just the beginning of the terror that is ahead. And ultimately, you just want to sleep through this year.
The sophomore slump is really inconvenient. You’re over here trying to apply for jobs and internships, yet can’t manage to get homework done without throwing a tantrum and quitting for a few hours to eat and binge-watch Netflix. But pushing through the year with your eyes on the prize (aka summer) is the best thing to do. So let’s all grab our ridiculously priced $5 coffees and cheers to the heroes who have made it four long years. You’re doing it right, welcome to sophomore year.