First week of sophomore year was a rollercoaster of emotion. I thought that with freshman year under my belt, returning back as a sophomore would be smooth sailing. To my surprise, that wasn’t the case. During the first week of school I noticed that I wasn’t happy.
I was so excited to reunite with my best friend of a roommate and to be living next door to my other amazing friends. We are all living together but on a completely different side of campus than last year. This change of dorms was a bit of an adjustment. I found myself comparing this year to last so much. I imagined all the memories of meeting the other freshmen on our floor, who were just as excited and nervous as I was. With that freshmen energy and open door mentality gone, this year, more than ever I’m realizing that you really have to put yourself out there to meet people. This year, I’ve decided to rush. I’m keeping an open mind about the process, but I think if it works out, being a part of a sorority would be a great opportunity to make friends and feel like I was part of a larger community at school.
An aspect of adapting back into college life that is probably the most challenging for me is having to say goodbye to my boyfriend after having spent another fun-filled summer together. From my experience, being in a long distance relationship with him last year, I know how hard and sometimes very lonely it can be, even when surrounded by your friends. You miss that one person that makes you feel like no one else does. It was particularly hard to settle in at school during the first week since he transferred to a school closer to home this year. He was hanging out with all our hometown friends who also go there and that made me feel like I was missing out. Having FOMO (fear of missing out) and being down because I didn’t have as many strong connections here made it hard to live in the moment and be happy, even when I was doing things like hanging at the beach. But it’s just an adjustment that I’m going to have to accept and be ok with.
Another challenge of sophomore year for me so far is the fact that I’m still undeclared and it’s stress-inducing when you realize this is the year you have to make up your mind. Within this week, I’ve been going back and forth between deciding on a major and being unsure of my class schedule. I even debated applying to the business school, but that was short lived after realizing it really wasn’t the right fit for me. All in all, it’s been hectic and stressful. With the stress of my happiness and feeling left out hanging over me, I felt like I wanted to transfer . The only school I’d want to transfer to is the one that my boyfriend goes to and our friends. I tried to stay reasonable and not let those moments consume my thoughts.
I think that after surviving this week I’ve finally gotten a little clarity. I’ve taken a step back and unpacked all my thoughts about my expectations for this year and my current situation. I’m starting to accept the fact I need to trust the process and live in the moment.