Currently, it is the weekend before finals. Rather than studying, I have been spending much of my time reflecting on my sophomore year of college. Seeing a lot of the people that I grew up with graduating has made me realize how quickly time flies. In a couple more short years, I too will be graduating from college. This thought is scary because it is a moment that has seemed so far away for my whole life, and now it is so close. Despite these thoughts, I am still excited
To be completely honest, I didn’t enjoy my first year of college as much as I had imagined I would. I felt that college was nothing like what I expected it to be. At the end of freshman year, I felt that I did not make enough memorable experiences or relationships. I blame myself for this considering I spent much of my time in my dorm room alone instead of going out, meeting new people, and making the most of my time. Everyone says that college is the best four years of your life but I felt that this was a huge lie.
I soon realized that your college experience is what you make it. You can’t expect to have a great time when you aren’t doing anything at all to put yourself out there. I decided that four years is too short of a time for me to be sitting in my dorm alone. I told myself that my sophomore year would be very different. The summer before the semester began, I made a list of goals for myself in various areas including academics, my social life, and professionally. In this post, I want to reflect on my sophomore year and all of the memories that I made.
Moved off campus into my first apartment
When deciding my living situation freshman year, I was torn between staying in the dorms for another year versus moving off campus into an apartment. I was concerned that moving off campus would make it harder for me to be involved as this is the case for many people. The exact opposite was true. In fact, I spent more time on campus than I did in my apartment this year. I became more actively involved in student organizations and I had an on-campus job which kept me busy.
I absolutely love having my own bedroom and bathroom, as well as a kitchen to cook in. This year I have spent a lot of time experimenting with new recipes, and I can’t wait to test out more next year! (See my Pinterest recipes post to see some of the delicious meals I recreated)
Overall, while I did enjoy living off campus, I did miss the sense of community that I felt while living in the dorms.
Struggled a bit balancing school, work, social life, etc.
My first semester of sophomore year, I found my classes to be challenging and on top of that my schedule was packed. Each day, I would leave my apartment around 8-9am, and would not be done with my daily activities until 8-9pm. This led me to constantly feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. I definitely was not putting in my best effort and my grades reflected that. When I received my final grades, I was
Sophomore year, I was overly concerned with being busy so that I had things to put on my resume. For much of the year, I was just going through the motions and spreading myself too thin. Being the introvert that I am, these exhausting days left me with very little energy for much else. Going into my junior year, I want to be more intentional with how I spend my time and energy. Next year I will be taking more classes related to my major which I think will help me be successful as far as grades go.
Took on a new leadership position
I have always been the girl who is hesitant to raise her hand in class, or who dreaded presentations because I did not want all the attention on me. This year I definitely decided to go out of my comfort zone by running for an executive board position for a student organization that I have been actively involved in. I wanted to be in the position to have a greater impact on my college community. This is something that I wanted to do the year before but I let my fears get the best of me and regretted it afterward. I was extremely nervous to pitch myself and my ideas in front of my peers, but I did it, and won the position I ran for!
I know that this experience will allow me to strengthen my communication skills, and to establish a number of connections with other students, faculty, and business professionals.
Got an internship for the summer!
After a year full of countless career fairs, networking events, cold emails, and rejections, I finally secured myself an internship for this upcoming summer. I am beyond excited for this opportunity to gain experience that will hopefully allow me to have a more clear vision of what my career path may look like.
This year, I can confidently say that I pushed myself out of comfort zone which resulted in me building relationships that have helped me to create everlasting memories. This year, my priorities became more clear to me. I became more confident in who I am as a person, what I want out of life, and my goals for my future.
While I’m still not sure if college is the best four years of your life, I am sure that it is a unique experience worth taking advantage of. This is a time where people are presented with so many opportunities that have the ability to shape the rest of their lives. So like I said before college is what you make it. The first half of college has already gone by incredibly fast, and I know that the second half will go by just as fast, if not faster. I plan to make the most of every moment, and meet as many people as I possibly am able to!
