A lot can change over the course of a year.
Starting out as a Freshman, I was unsure who I’d end up closest to, how we’d spend our time, and sometimes I even wondered if I’d made the right choice in attending Notre Dame. Syllabus week last year found a lot of freshmen concerned about how they looked to their peers: Were they dressed the right way? Would hosting a dorm party be the right way to start off the year? How soon should you text the person whose number you got at Domerfest? All of these questions contributed to a general attitude of uncertainty, the overarching theme of Freshman year for many people. Starting out in a new place with new faces can be very overwhelming, and it didn’t help that no one else really knew what they were doing either.
Syllabus week of spring semester, though a little more comfortable for most people, still had a fuzzy vibe to it. Even though friend groups were pretty well formed, a lot of the social aspects of life were still up in the air. I spent much of my first week back from break with a different group of people than I had in the fall, and along with that came the anxiety of feeling out another friend group. It ended up being a phenomenal week full of shenanigans, though, and it set a great precedent for all ensuing syllabus weeks.
Now having the first week of Sophomore year under my belt, I speak for more people than just myself when I say I’ve never felt more confident in where I’m at both socially and otherwise.
Whereas Freshman year was all about “making it” – finding friends, keeping them, participating in activities that are perceived as “cool,” Sophomore year has a totally different feel to it. There was no pressure to go out every night or to hang out with that cute boy from your Philo lecture. On Monday night both my roommate and I were in bed watching Netflix at 10:30, something that we never would have done as Freshmen.
On the nights we did choose to go out, much of our time was spent catching up with friends we made over the course of last year. Instead of having to go through the list of questions like, “What dorm are you in? Do you know so-and-so? Where are you from originally?”, we were able to catch people up on what we did over the summer and ask them on the 1-10 scale how ready their bodies are for the upcoming Texas game.
Overall, Freshman year was a huge learning experience for a lot of people, and as character building as those experiences are, it detracts from the general meaning of being an ND undergrad. Now, having moved past that period in our lives, we’re able to explore everything ND has to offer without the additional concern of finding our way around, both literally and figuratively.
If this syllabus week was any indication, it’s going to be an incredible year!
Follow HCND on Twitter, like us on Facebook, Pin with us and show our Instagram some love!
Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (provided by author)