It is October, only a month, and changes into the school year. According to my calculations, I have been rejected from eight jobs, cried six times, and have thought about dropping out seriously once. Sophomore year seems to be the purgatory of college.
Being a freshman is heaven. You have the opportunity to completely rebrand yourself, make new friends, and immerse yourself in a completely new atmosphere. There are no “rules” because if you mess up, you’re a freshman who didn’t know any better. You get to meet new people and realize what kind of people you want to surround yourself with. You are finding your niche in classes and figuring out what you may want to be; you have seemingly endless time to figure it out. As a sophomore, you’re just grown enough to know better but not grown enough to be a true adult.
There are certainly benefits to being a sophomore: you finally get a car if you choose to, but you are so used to walking that you don’t know where everything is yet. You know the ins and outs of how to be a student, and you’ve figured out your personalized study habits. Which study rooms actually help you study, and which ones are soundproof enough to gossip using first and last names? The general ebb and flow of the school year is not a surprise to you, and there is comfort in that.
There are different places that are “so freshman year,” but there are also reserved upperclassmen venues. There always seems to be somewhere you wish you were but can’t quite get to. Trying to be a “real adult” is tiring, but then the idea that you are acting ‘too young’ is embarrassing. The worst thing someone could be is a freshman—or so they say. Trying to juggle having fun with the somewhat newfound freedom yet also forcing yourself to reach unattainable standards can burn someone out quickly.
After piecing together all of the advice I’ve gotten over the past month or so, the main quote I’ve gotten is, “just enjoy yourself”. While that is the vaguest thing I have ever heard, it couldn’t be more true. By getting yourself caught up in the dos and don’ts of college, it’s easy to forget that this time flies by. I look at pictures of myself as a freshman and feel like I’ve aged a thousand years, but it’s important to know I’ve only lived one year, and it’s okay to take it slow and enjoy the moment.