Help! I’m a Junior in limbo, and it’s terrifying

We all remember the excitement of Freshman year. Meeting new people, getting away from our parents, and experiencing our first real dose of “freedom” were just a couple of the things that we looked forward to. For the first time in our lives, we could chose what we wanted to do at anytime (which sometimes included skipping class) without the threat of reprimand from our parents hanging over our heads.

Freshman year was definitely a thrilling time, even with the large amount of life adjustments taking place. We were beginning our four years of college and literally had the world at our fingertips. However, one thing we never anticipated was how fast it would fly by. Before you know it, you wake up one day and you’re halfway through college

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We’re literally in the middle of college, AHHH

Junior year is the weird in between time where you realize each day brings you closer to the end of college, and real life, than it does the the beginning. You must come to terms with the fact that you’re halfway through with some of the most eye-opening and self-defining years of your life.

We begin to worry about the future and the “real world”, as we feel the time clock start ticking down on our decisions for a final career. All of these factors can lead to a very anxiety-ridden and stressful Junior year, but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way.

It’s ok if you don’t know what you want to do yet.

Though you may feel as if you have to be sure of your career choice right now, in order to prepare for getting into the best grad schools or career programs, that isn’t the case. Many people graduate and take a gap year or two, make some money, and then come to a more confident conclusion in what they want to do.

Others go straight to grad school and decide, years down the road, that they made the wrong career choice so they switch into another field. You may feel as if you have to have your career decided once you graduate, but life allows for flexibility. Nothing will go exactly how you plan it, and it’s totally acceptable to change your mind down the road.

Your last two years can be just as good as your first two

Many people believe that once they hit junior year, they’ll be so busy with their major classes and various applications, that it could never be as much fun as their first two years. However, taking classes in what I’m passionate about has been one of the most exciting parts of college for me (though that could just be because I’m a nerd).

At least in Junior year you’re doing what you love

Once you hit Junior year, you’ve formed specialized interests and, therefore, are doing what you love. Though you may have a little less free time than you did Freshman and Sophomore year, you’re working on things that you really care about. As long as you manage your time well, Junior and Senior year can be some of the most rewarding years of college because you get to focus on the people and projects that have come to mean a lot to you.

College is more like the “real world” than we are led to believe

Contrary to popular belief, college is closer to the “real world” than we often think. The majority of students have to pay a large amount of school costs and come out with sizable loans, so they already have bills that they are responsible for while in school. We are responsible for how we manage our time and we are accountable to our professors, as we would be to a boss.

Many people work while they’re in school, which is probably more difficult than simply having one job in the “real world”. The world after college isn’t THAT different from our current experience, so we shouldn’t spend too much time worrying about it. Sure, we won’t have a dining hall to go to when we don’t want to cook for ourselves, but we’ve become well-acquainted with balancing many responsibilities at once so we should be just fine.

So just remember, if you feel like you’re struggling to keep your head above water, in actuality you’re probably doing just fine. Don’t let the pressures of the future get you down, there’s still a lot to enjoy right in this moment.