They say that college is the best four years of your life. You’re on your own for the first time as an adult, but you’re still able to make mistakes. You’re living in a bubble, absorbing copious amounts of information in preparation for the real world. As college students, we have lots to juggle: attending classes, studying, spending time with family, socializing with friends, going to club meetings, etc.
However, as freshmen and even sophomores, it’s easy to get comfortable in this bubble. I thought I had college all figured out.
That is until reality hit me.
I was no longer a new and fresh college student. Junior year was right around the corner, and I was about to start my second half of college. With talks of signing leases, applying to grad school, looking for potential jobs, and post-graduation plans, the bubble of college that I had gotten nice and cozy residing in burst.
Although college is often talked about in a four-year interval, I firmly believe that there are significant differences by the year. So, what does junior year entail? For me, it’s preparation for grad school applications, taking difficult classes that will weigh heavily on my GPA, and talking with advisors about post-graduate endeavors. In addition to the surge in academic intensity, I have assumed bigger roles in organizations I am a part of on campus, taken on the role of an RA in a first-year dorm, and watched most of my friends move off campus making it hard to see them every day.
So far, junior year has felt like having one foot in and one foot out the door, but I keep reminding myself that I have two whole years left to relish the wonders of college and all that it has to offer. Yes, becoming an upperclassman means that the things on my plate are growing, but that does not take away from the fact that we are all still learning how to be the best version of ourselves for when we graduate.
In having long conversations about junior year with some of my closest friends, I have felt comforted in the fact that most people are experiencing the same anxieties, fears, and stressors that I am. I write this to affirm anyone who is struggling with change throughout college, especially in the transition to being an upperclassman.
If anything, junior year so far has taught me to be intentional with my friendships, academics, and everything in between. I fill my time with meaningful activities to make sure my last two years of college are ones I can look back on, not in regret that I was worried about the future, but with joy because I made the most of that time in my life.