Everyone goes through the sophomore slump
But there are ways to prevent it
In college, there are endless possibilities: hundreds of classes to choose from, clubs to join, and people to be friends with. And in just one year, all of these things can change. The person I was at the beginning of freshman year is not the person I am now. In all of these possibilities and changes is where I found uncertainty and discomfort.
As sophomore year set in, I felt uneasy with the changes that happened between this year and freshman year. Everything around me seemed so fragile. I felt lost in a place that had given me so much comfort the year before.
As I let these feelings consume me, I started to feel alone. I felt as though I was surrounded by people who loved their school but I soon came to realize I wasn’t the only one experiencing the “sophomore slump.”
So maybe you’re like me and you look around campus and think “What am I doing here? What should I do?” I have asked myself these questions many times as I contemplate how the rest of my college life will pan out and I have come up with a million answers but none of them have allowed me to escape the sophomore slump, until I started writing this article.
The answer: do what makes you happy.
In the midst of the sophomore slump, it can be hard to identify what makes you happy and sometimes you are overwhelmed with so much work and so many commitments that it is seemingly impossible to find the time to do what makes you happy. Yes, school is important but so is happiness.
Maybe you don’t like going out every day of the week. Maybe you can list 100 things you would rather do than go to the Boot. And maybe you think being 1,000 miles away from home is too hard. There is nothing wrong with feeling this way, even if it seems like everyone else around you feels differently.
There are plenty of things about college I don’t like, but there are also a lot of things I love like going to street markets, festivals and museums and running in Audubon park. When I do the things that I love and disregard the pressures and expectations to do the things I don’t, I have become free from the uncertainty and discomfort.
So, as I sit here and stare at my calendar with a countdown of the days till I go home, I realize how fast this year has gone by. College has an expiration date. Spend the time doing things you love and experiencing things you may never get to once the timer runs out.
In college, there are endless possibilities and things are always changing. Don’t let the uncertainty consume you. Embrace it.