It’s an uncontested fact that junior year of high school was, for most people, the most miserable year in K-12. For most, junior year of high school means beginning to weigh the options for after graduation, whether that’s touring colleges or looking into what career path works best, making sure your grades are perfect and taking several rigorous college-level classes all at the same time.
My junior year of high school was, undoubtedly, the worst year of high school. My junior year was the first time I realized that I had anxiety, my first big breakup and several other life changes that still affect me to this day. It is no wonder that I was apprehensive about what my junior year of college would bring, since at this point I was pretty sure I was doomed to have horrible junior years.
Three weeks in, though, things are still going good. Here are five things you learn by your junior year of college, both about yourself and your school.
1) Your major
This is a big one. You could have been that person that changed their major around once or twice a semester, or have stuck with the same major since your freshman year. But what matters now is that you have a concrete major! The next step is what you’re going to do with it, but that is something for last-semester-of-senior-year you to figure out.
2) An effective way around campus
Gone are the freshmen year days of relying on Google Maps and helpful advice from thoughtful upperclassmen on the first day of class. By your junior year, you could walk around campus blindfolded and still get to your class on time. You’ve mastered how to get from point A to point B the fastest, have several shortcuts you regularly utilize and know which parts of campus to avoid when it comes to clubs throwing flyers in your face.
3) Your favorite on-campus spots
Not only have you figured out your way around, you also have a few top favorite places on campus. These can be spots to study, spots to eat or even places you have fond memories of. All that matters is that you’ve found a couple ways to break down your huge campus into smaller, more manageable pieces.
4) A proper self-care routine
Self-care should be a priority no matter what year or age you are. By junior year of college, though, most people have figured out what routine works best for them. Whether that be a be it a 20 minute run, two hour Netflix marathon or 30 minute bubble bath. If you haven’t figured yours out yet, use this year to figure out what works best for you by trying out different methods of self-care and choose your favorite.
5) Where you belong
This is something that, personally, took me quite a while to figure out. Once I did, it made all the difference in my happiness. By your junior year, you probably have figured out your happy place or where you belong. Whether this is within a certain department, within a club or within another organization. Learning this can really help you figure out more about yourself, because that really is something that takes years to figure out.
What have you realized this year, collegiettes? Let us know!