We all remember the fear of junior year in high school. It was the year that colleges considered heavily in their admissions decisions. Your academics, your extracurriculars, and your overall performance had to be stellar that year even if your previous ones weren’t. The stakes felt so high. Four years later, as a junior in college, I can say that the junior panic still exists.
Freshman year of college is centered on the transition. Everything and everyone is new. If you moved on campus then you are getting used to not living at home. You are meeting new people left and right. The everyday life you were used to for 18 years is flipped on its head. The majority of your time is spent navigating how college life works and whether it is right for you or not. Once you find your footing, sophomore year comes along. You are beginning to establish your place on campus. Instead of being new, you might be a more involved contributor to a club or program. There is less excitement for all the new things thrown your way constantly. In sophomore year you can still have one foot on the side of the unknown and the other foot in the known.
After two years of pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you hit the halfway point. Suddenly, you have a considerable amount of college done and you can look at those years with a bit of retrospect. It is odd. You may think, how did I get here? The idea that half of your undergrad experience is done can be relieving but also worrying. Now you have a better idea of what two years of college looks and feels like. Except now you also have to take that knowledge and apply it to the next two years. Not only does your concept of time adjust but this is where you feel the pressure to be committed to your roles on campus.
You may be like me and be on a constant search for programs and opportunities to build your resume. This is a major part of the junior panic. You want to find those resume boosters that you can start adding to find internships and jobs. It no longer feels like finding your place but rather, securing your place. No one wants to have to scramble their senior year to do things in order to build a resume. Junior year is when that voice really creeps in. It tells you that it is go time. You need to really start developing the skills and interests that you merely had to seek out in the beginning of undergrad.
So, how do you remedy this third-year anxiety? Something I have learned is to embrace the chaos. By dedicating your time to things that will make for a good resume, you are also dedicating time to yourself. These opportunities allow you to develop your skills and be a more well-rounded person. It is never too late to use all of the resources you have access to during college. While junior year can come with a lot of responsibility, it is also a perfect time to be a sponge for the things that interest you. You are not a resume, you are just a third-year college student who dedicates their time to the things that make them better.
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