In the spring of my freshman year, I learned of the term “sophomore slump”. The term essentially means that the momentum of your freshman year has faded, and you no longer try to achieve “perfect grades”, ultimately falling into this slump where you can’t seem to get your work done in time. When my friend told me about the term, I truly believed that I wouldn’t let it happen to me and I could continue to be on top of my grades. However, I was slapped with the cruel reality that I could not escape it.
Once August started and all the professor’s syllabi were out, I did what I did last year and put all my assignments in an assignment tracker to make sure I stayed on top of my work. I attempted to do everything I did during my freshman year to feel motivated. During the first few weeks of class, I made sure to attend all lectures and not let my sleepiness keep me in bed. It worked for the first month or so, but once fewer and fewer students attended class, it was very hard to stay motivated. I stopped going to my 9 am since attendance was not mandatory. I started to leave my assignments till the last minute, which just caused me more stress than if I had done them at the beginning of the week. And I continued to sleep in while I continuously snoozed my alarms.
My motivation was gone, and I no longer cared about my grades as much as I did my freshman year. I learned that the “sophomore slump” was a real thing, and I was going through it. Once midterm season started, I learned that I had literally forgotten how to study. My routine was broken, and I kept getting distracted. After a few days of studying, I was able to stay focused. However, losing my studying habits was a big wake-up call for me. I had to put more time and effort into school. In all honesty, I blamed myself since I was the one who put myself in that spot.
In an attempt to help motivate myself, I have tried to get out of my apartment and not do my work there. I found cute spots all around campus to study and feel a little more in the spirit. I started waking up earlier to try to get my assignments done in the morning. If I wanted to stay in for the day, I had to finish all my assignments and study for a few hours. I set goals for myself, which helped me keep myself accountable. Obviously, there are days when getting out of bed is harder than others, but I continue to work on establishing a healthy study routine. I haven’t finished my sophomore year, but what I have learned is that the “sophomore slump” is very much a real thing. However, it is something you can get over if you are determined to put the effort into.