I can’t believe it’s been a year since my first ever article for Her Campus and a year since I started college. So, it only feels fitting that the first article of my sophomore year is a follow-up to my first-ever article. To recap my freshman year Taylor Swift playlist: I started this playlist with “Fifteen (Taylor’s Version)”, “Never Grow Up (Taylor’s Version),” and “You’re On Your Own, Kid.” Here are the additions for sophomore year:
“august”
“August slipped away into a moment in time. ‘Cause it was never mine.”
What better way to talk about Sophomore year than the summer that’s just ended? The summer before freshman year is highly discussed as it’s the last summer before all the big changes that come with college. But to me, the summer between freshman year and sophomore year is more interesting.
- “Salt air, and the rust on your door/I never needed anything more.” This summer felt so rejuvenating after finals week spring semester. Sleeping in, seeing friends, and having no homework was a relief. I got to spend some time at the lake with my best friends from high school and getting to have one big debrief about our freshman year was amazing. Everyone was at different schools in different majors but we shared so many similar stories. From overwhelming schedules to funny teachers, it felt so easy to fall back into those friendships even though we had spent months apart.
- “Back when we were still changin’ for the better/Wanting was enough/For me, it was enough.” But as we all know summer is a fleeting thing. Especially for me as I headed back to TCU on Aug. 3 to get ready for sorority recruitment. I wished summer could last but I had also begun to miss my friends at TCU and the independence that college gave me.
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”
“‘Cause I’m a real tough kid, I can handle my shit”
I assumed that since I was now a sophomore that the transition back to school would be easier this year. After all, I had friends, I knew my way around, and this year I had my car. Yet, I struggled. Move-in felt more draining and I felt homesick even as I was excited to see my friends. I felt like I had to hide my struggle because I thought I shouldn’t feel that way. I thought I should be happy not struggling to feel at home on a campus I had missed so much over the summer.
- “I can read your mind/”She’s having the time of her life.”‘ At first, I kept my thoughts to myself. I threw myself into getting ready for recruitment and catching up with friends. Luckily my friends know me well and it didn’t take long for them to realize I wasn’t feeling myself. They reassured me that they felt the same way. We had all come in thinking there would be no issues but this time when we faced that homesickness we had each other to lean on.
- “They said, ‘Babe, you gotta fake it ’til you make it’ and I did/Lights, camera, bitch smile, even when you wanna die.” College comes with a lot of change and people handle it differently. For me, it helps to fake a little joy until it’s real. Now all settled in with classes having started the joy is real. I can’t wait to see what sophomore year holds.
- “I cry a lot but I am so productive, it’s an art/You know you’re good when you can even do it/With a broken heart.” Taylor captures putting up that front so well and her performance at the Era’s tour just adds another layer. To me, this song captures to turmoil of feelings in the transition to college whether its for your freshman year or your sophomore year.
“dorothea”
“A tiny screen’s the only place I see you now/And I got nothing but well wishes for ya”
Dorothea is a song with many interpretations and one of my favorite songs of Taylor’s that weaves a narrative so effortlessly. For this article, I am looking at this through the lens of keeping in touch with friends from high school who are far away now because of college.
- “And if you’re ever tired of being known/For who you know/You know, you’ll always know me.” The bond between people who survived high school and are still friends is a bond that distance or time between Facetime calls can not break. Catching up with my best friend makes it feel like there is no distance between us and our calls go on for hours.
- “This place is the same as it ever was.” Going back home after being at college is such a strange experience. Especially when you’re home for fall break but your friends aren’t. It feels like your hometown stays the same but you’ve changed. For me, it felt like home, but a part of my home had become Fort Worth so it felt like I was missing a piece of myself.
- “But are you still the same soul/I met under the bleachers?” Feeling changed after freshman year, you worry that your friends have also changed and maybe that means you won’t be as close as you once were. I was very happy to discover that although we had all spent time apart at our core we were still the same people.
Sophomore year is just beginning but I can’t wait to see what this year holds. I know that no matter what there is a Taylor Swift song that makes me feel like I’m not alone in what I’m going through.