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Getting Out of ‘The Sophomore Slump’

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Kenyon chapter.

A phenomenon I thought I would be able to avoid was the “Sophomore Slump.” However, in the spring semester of sophomore year, I find myself in that slow, low energy, self-doubting headspace.

All summer I looked forward to returning to campus on a bright August day for my sophomore year. But now, classes are getting harder, my days are filled with more reading, papers, and exams, and with less time for friends and hobbies. Nothing has that shiny, new pamphlet-in-the-admissions-office kind of college feel; now it’s just everyday life. The independence and excitement of living away from your parents is no longer fun; it’s now just a reminder that you are an adult now. 

As the college halfway point stares us down, and we spend all our time applying to abroad programs, declaring our majors, and searching for summer internships. Here are some things I have been doing to break myself out of this spiral: 

1) Move Your Body

I find that the best way to get out of that sluggish cycle is to take a break from staring at computer screens and move your body. Take a walk, go on a run, lift some heavy weights, swim, dance, or do whatever works best for you. Find a way to express your worries that doesn’t send you down the ‘what do I do with the rest of my life’ doom spiral. I find it works best if I walk down to the gym to lift heavy things while blasting angry music in my airpods on noise cancelation mode. 

2) Embrace the Dining Hall Food and Eat a Vegetable 

There is no avoiding it; you’re just gonna have to eat it. Find a way to make dining hall food your own. Get creative at the salad bar, panini press your chocolate chip cookies, make your own quesadilla or chipotle burrito with the wraps from the sandwich station, use the yogurt at breakfast to make a parfait with a cut up banana, some granola and honey. Don’t feel boxed in by what is offered by the individual stations; there are a million different things you can do without following the masses. 

3) Drink More Water

I was involved in an exercise recently where I had to offer advice to a woman twice my age. I felt so unworthy of the task. What could I have to offer this well established, smart, fifty year old woman? So I simply looked at her and said: drink more water. Fill your water bottle any chance you get. Everyone needs this advice, no matter what stage of life you are in and when—but especially the college student who finds themself stuck in a rut. 

4) F#CK IT WE BALL 

Summer camp bunks and childhood neighborhoods are the only other times that you get to live within a mile radius of all your closest friends. So enjoy! Stop studying and walk over to the room you spend all your time in. Put down the book and do something dumb. There will be plenty of time for work when you graduate so get out of the library, stay up way too late, and just enjoy it while it lasts. 


The moral of the story is, it may seem like the end of the world right now. Your to-do list may be longer than you have ever seen it, but there’s time to complete all the tasks while continuing to prioritize you.

Martha Chestnut is a Religious Studies Major in the Class of 2027 at Kenyon College. When she is not studying she can be found crocheting, or reading a good book.