“Sophomore” directly translated means “wise fool,” and I think that’s the most accurate way to describe a person’s second year of college. As a sophomore at BC who’s still in the midst of figuring things out this school year, here are six things I’ve learned thus far. Whether you’re a freshman wanting to look ahead, a sophomore curious to see what I listed, or an upperclassman wanting to reminisce, go ahead and read on.
1. You need to make an effort to keep your relationships alive.
I admit it… I’m 100% guilty of being awful at keeping in contact with people I don’t see or get to interact with regularly. It’s a pretty ordinary phenomenon for a lot of people: no matter how well we get to know someone, we often lose contact with that person when he/she is no longer as close in proximity to us as the person used to be (e.g. living on our floor or being in our English class freshman year). We tend to get wrapped up in our own lives. Like a lot of sophomores, there are plenty of people from freshman year I’ve lost touch with and wish I could reconnect with. Keeping up with friends from high school presents a similar issue; I keep in contact with only a few high school friends but even then I don’t do as much as I should to stay up to date with what’s going on in their lives. Sophomore year, you truly learn the value of having quality friends and making an effort to keep in touch. And, because you will most likely have friends studying abroad junior year, you’ll need to improve these skills even more in preparation for next year.
2. Your meal plan can and will run out.
Assuming you live on Lower your sophomore year, you will live about 2 minutes away from the dining hall. Even if you do live on CoRo, you will be closer to Mac than you were as a freshman on Upper or than most Newton kids were from Stuart. This is dangerous. Freshman year, I had about $1,000 left on my meal plan each semester. This school year, I ran out of meal plan money during the last two weeks of fall semester and spent that time period living on nothing but peanut butter sandwiches and CVS-purchased Chobani.
3. You shouldn’t be afraid to stray from the “BC norm,” and you don’t need to make excuses when you do so.
So after freshman year, you finally realized you never “have to” do anything you don’t want to do. You don’t have be friends with anyone you don’t like. You don’t have to make lengthy small talk every time you run into someone you know on campus (But I’m not advocating the “BC look-away,” either. A simple “Hey” will suffice.). You don’t have to go the Plex regularly just because “everyone else” does. And you don’t have to go out every weekend if you don’t feel like it. It wasn’t until this school year, however, that I realized not only can I do whatever I want, but I also don’t have to make an excuse for choosing to not follow campus culture. You don’t need an excuse to eat a Hillside burger, instead of a salad (“I had a rough week.”), or stay in on a Friday night and have a movie night with your friends, instead of going out (“I’m just really tired.”). You do you.
4. There is such a thing as being too involved.
If there’s one thing I learned from last semester, it’s this. Yes, getting involved can be a good thing; but, academics come first, so don’t stress yourself out too much. For your own well being, limit your involvement in clubs and activities so that you actually get enough of those ever-elusive hours of sleep. (And yes, there are some people who are able to be crazy-involved and still have their lives completely together—but we all can’t be them.).
5. It’s okay to not to know what you’re doing with your life.
Don’t get me wrong, sophomore year is definitely a good time to assess your strengths and identify your interests in order to either figure out or solidify what you want to study. But, don’t feel forced to make any major decisions just yet. Upperclassmen are at that point in their lives where they have to start worrying about what they’re going to do after graduation. As a sophomore, you’re in that sweet spot where you can take advantage of the time you have to explore what you want to study and accomplish in the future.
6. You’re in charge of your own happiness.
As you probably learned after freshman year, comparing yourselves to others isn’t worth it. Some people are better than others at hiding the negative aspects of their lives. But what I learned sophomore year was that, in a more generalized manner, I can only be unhappy if I put myself in a bad situation that allows me to feel that way. Bottom line: make yourself happy by letting go of things that make you sad. If you’re uninterested in what you’re studying, look into a different major. If the people you surround yourself with constantly make you feel bad about yourself, get better friends. If you’re repeatedly feeling used or underappreciated by your current romantic interest/hook-up, bail. You deserve to feel good about yourself.
Photo Sources:
wifflegif.com
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