Surviving The Sophomore Slump

Two months ago, I began my sophomore year of college. Coincidentally, for the past two months, I have felt stuck. Acquiring the motivation to swim, read, thrift, and meet new people—all the things that once brought me joy—has become increasingly difficult. I no longer write. A week where I attend all my classes is rare. Assignments will exclusively be started the day they are due. I keep asking myself: am I depressed or am I just experiencing the notorious ‘sophomore slump’? 

Wikipedia defines the sophomore slump as a failure to live up to the high expectations a college student’s freshman year set. Freshman year, everything is new. You look forward to a new lifestyle, environment, and community. By sophomore year, though, your routine is pretty much set in stone. Yes, having my own apartment and job makes me feel more grown up, but the collegiate aspects of school have lost their shine. My classes no longer have a prestigious appeal and crowded frat basements are more headache-inducing than adrenaline-boosting. Everything that made me love college kind of makes me…hate it. 

In addition to the lack of new experiences, sophomore year feels like an awkward waiting room. By your second year, there is an unspoken pressure that you need to start getting your life figured out. You have to find internships, decide if you want to study abroad, and cement a major. And that is on top of the annual stressors of finding housing, curating your schedule for next semester, and navigating strange situationships. All around, sophomore year sucks. 

I let the negativity surrounding this year consume me. I became hyper-focused on the anxiety that these external factors were causing me and I forgot my life is coming from me, not at me. I had a choice: I could continue to be miserable or I could put in the effort to make myself happier. I chose the ladder, so here are some strategies I’ve equipped to revive myself. Hopefully you can incorporate them into your life to prevent the sophomore slump from swallowing you whole. 

Change your routine

As aforementioned, sophomore year makes it easy to fall into a mundane routine. However, the smallest changes can give you a fresh perspective on life. Get yourself out of a rut by making a new playlist, trying a new recipe, and taking a new route to class. You can even try waking up 10 minutes earlier to start your day feeling more energized and prepared. These breaks in your routine give you something to look forward to, which makes life appear less stale. Remember: it’s the little things in life. 

Finding joy in the people and places around you

One of my favorite movies growing up was Meet the Robinsons. In the movie, the character Goob sulks through the halls of his school thinking everybody hates him. In actuality, people are trying to be his friend, but he is so focused on his own sadness that he doesn’t notice. This is reminiscent of real life. It is so easy to become consumed in your own feelings that you forget what there is to appreciate. People love you more than you know. Your community has infinite opportunities for you to explore that you haven’t discovered yet. That is why it is crucial to reconnect with your environment. Text a friend you haven’t seen in a while, eat at a family-owned restaurant, go on a date, visit your local public library, call your grandma–do anything to distract yourself from your own negativity.

Reconnect with your hobbies

Take some time to reflect on your daily life. What do you spend most of your time doing? Does this fulfill you? Drain you? When I become overwhelmed, TikTok collects most of my time. I feel there is so much to do that all I can do is nothing. However, this is not my most healthy habit. Using screen time as a form of escapism left me feeling lazy, guilty, and discontented. I now turn to the activities that make me feel refreshed and destressed when my to-do list begins to build. To force myself to get out of bed, I will go on a hike, workout, or bake. Even when I feel like staying in bed, I’ll put on a movie or pick up a book rather than my phone. My doom-scrolling aversion has not only left me feeling more productive and empowered, but it has also left me feeling like myself again. Engage in the hobbies that make you feel good and shape who you are, not what seems like the easiest way to unwind. 

When sophomore year or life in general gets stressful, you must prioritize your mental health and wellbeing. Be sure to check in on yourself. How are you really doing? What can you do to make yourself feel better? Sometimes that can be out of your control, though. If you are seriously struggling, look into your community’s mental health resources. Here at CU, the Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) Office offers free counseling sessions, mental health workshops, and psychiatric evaluations. They also have a referral program to match you with licensed therapists local to Boulder. 

No matter what, you are never alone. We will survive the sophomore year slump together. 

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