By Gina Brindisi, Staff Writer, Emerson College
Freshman year in a nutshell: the greatest, most thrilling mess of my life, emphasis on the mess. There was a break up, a loss of friends, health problems and physical fights. If you saw it on an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation, chances are either one of my close friends or I experienced it. Now to many, this probably sounds disastrous and certainly not glamorous or fun. To me, however, it was one of the best years of my life, because getting through all those “tiny” bumps was an exciting process that led to so many other discoveries and treasurable memories. So yes, I may have spent one night crying on the phone to my best friend from home because I left my wallet on the T and lost all my friends and was just drunkenly wandering around Allston, but the T ride was a an entertaining experience, and I was just a stupid freshman, after all.
Then sophomore year came, and suddenly the “I’m just a freshman” excuse vanished and I found myself facing more responsibility than ever before. Now there’s work and internships, harder, more demanding classes and leadership positions in organizations, all the while with the prospect of your future and career dangling in front of you and each day finding yourself inching closer and closer to it. But yet you still possess that freshmen mentality. You still want to explore, have fun and go crazy. You find yourself straddling the real world and your ideal world.
I was warned about this. My mother called it the sophomore slump and swore I would fall victim to it. I didn’t believe her. I knew I had so much fun my freshman year, and I was certain sophomore year would be just as good, if not better. I assumed that because I was already established at college, and have a strong understanding of who I am and what I want to do with my life, that I would be able to enjoy sophomore year even more. I simply imagined a cleaner, less messy freshman year.
What I found was certainly not as sloppy, but it was far more tragic and terrible. Now I feel the pressures of trying to build up my resume and become professionally polished, yet I still feel ignorant and inexperienced in a lot of ways. Yes, I am a sophomore, and yes I am much more knowledgeable than I was last semester, but I am not quite ready to enter the real world yet. There is still so much for me to learn. I can still grow and develop in so many ways, but since I am a sophomore I feel professors, supervisors and even upperclassmen expect me to be fully established. So I’ll often put on a front and portray myself as such, but in my head it’s a whirlwind of confusion, frustration and stress. In a way it pushes you back and makes you want to just cut loose and go wild and crazy…that’s what college is for, right? You want to feel ignorant like a freshman again, but your daily responsibilities keep you shackled to the ground, orienting you towards the future.
Sophomore Writing, Literature & Publishing major Maddie Rojas Lynch is feeling the wrath of sophomore year, as well.
Freshman year in a nutshell: the greatest, most thrilling mess of my life, emphasis on the mess. There was a break up, a loss of friends, health problems and physical fights. If you saw it on an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation, chances are either one of my close friends or I experienced it. Now to many, this probably sounds disastrous and certainly not glamorous or fun. To me, however, it was one of the best years of my life, because getting through all those “tiny” bumps was an exciting process that led to so many other discoveries and treasurable memories. So yes, I may have spent one night crying on the phone to my best friend from home because I left my wallet on the T and lost all my friends and was just drunkenly wandering around Allston, but the T ride was a an entertaining experience, and I was just a stupid freshman, after all.
Then sophomore year came, and suddenly the “I’m just a freshman” excuse vanished and I found myself facing more responsibility than ever before. Now there’s work and internships, harder, more demanding classes and leadership positions in organizations, all the while with the prospect of your future and career dangling in front of you and each day finding yourself inching closer and closer to it. But yet you still possess that freshmen mentality. You still want to explore, have fun and go crazy. You find yourself straddling the real world and your ideal world.
I was warned about this. My mother called it the sophomore slump and swore I would fall victim to it. I didn’t believe her. I knew I had so much fun my freshman year, and I was certain sophomore year would be just as good, if not better. I assumed that because I was already established at college, and have a strong understanding of who I am and what I want to do with my life, that I would be able to enjoy sophomore year even more. I simply imagined a cleaner, less messy freshman year.
What I found was certainly not as sloppy, but it was far more tragic and terrible. Now I feel the pressures of trying to build up my resume and become professionally polished, yet I still feel ignorant and inexperienced in a lot of ways. Yes, I am a sophomore, and yes I am much more knowledgeable than I was last semester, but I am not quite ready to enter the real world yet. There is still so much for me to learn. I can still grow and develop in so many ways, but since I am a sophomore I feel professors, supervisors and even upperclassmen expect me to be fully established. So I’ll often put on a front and portray myself as such, but in my head it’s a whirlwind of confusion, frustration and stress. In a way it pushes you back and makes you want to just cut loose and go wild and crazy…that’s what college is for, right? You want to feel ignorant like a freshman again, but your daily responsibilities keep you shackled to the ground, orienting you towards the future.
Sophomore Writing, Literature & Publishing major Maddie Rojas Lynch is feeling the wrath of sophomore year, as well.
“"I think sophomore year is hard because it's like a realty check. As a freshman you have all these hopes and aspirations, and you romanticize college. But sophomore year is just a lot more hard work and not enough gain yet. You start to realize that it will be awhile before you accomplish anything. It's tricky to get past that,” she explained.
It’s a class-wide trend, a mutual, and almost inescapable feeling among many sophomores. What makes it worse is it’s a hard slump to dig yourself out of. But it can be done. Try going out one night. It doesn’t have to be an enormous frat party bursting at the seams with freshman. It can be small and low-key, but still a much needed escape. It is college after all, and regardless of what year you are, you still need to enjoy it before you fully enter the real world and endure all the responsibilities that come with that. Or even if you don’t take the time to cut loose one night, at least set aside some personal time. Disregard all the demands from class, work and whatever else you maybe responsible for, for at least an hour, and engage in something that makes you happy. You need to treat yourself right before you can do anything for anyone. Another great way to take a spin on the sophomore slump is make all these new experiences and responsibilities a learning experience. You’ll start gaining more confidence as you grow more comfortable in your new role as a sophomore.
Ultimately, navigating through sophomore year is not going to be easy. The may be far fewer bumps than freshman year but getting over each hump will prove to be outrageously difficult. But similar to freshman year, there are things to be experienced and learned you just have to keep digging to find them.
Ultimately, navigating through sophomore year is not going to be easy. The may be far fewer bumps than freshman year but getting over each hump will prove to be outrageously difficult. But similar to freshman year, there are things to be experienced and learned you just have to keep digging to find them.
Gina is majoring in Writing, Literature & Publishing with a double minor in Leadership & Management and Sociology. She maybe a sophomore but she's a five-year old at heart who is super passionate about education reform. She also loves peanut butter and all things related to Paris, France. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.