Last year I wrote an article called “11 Things I Learned the Hard Way My Freshman Year.” After writing the article, I closed my laptop, took a big inhale, and felt prepared to take on another year of college. I was hopeful that I had made basically all of the mistakes a college student could make… boy was I wrong. So, as my fourth semester at the University of Connecticut winds down, I’m back with 11 more things I have learned the hard way: sophomore year edition.
1. Be annoying
As an anxious girlie, I have long struggled with the idea of being perceived as an annoyance. This fear has stopped me from accomplishing a lot: from long-term goals to small, daily desires. After years of overanalyzing my every interaction, I realized the answer to my problems was to just be annoying. Want to make friends? Be annoying and ask people to hang out randomly. Want a job? Annoyingly flaunt how talented and amazing you are. Need help on an assignment? Be so super annoying and email your professor for help. It’s difficult to learn to advocate for yourself, but once you realize that not everyone sees these actions as annoying, you’ll be on the path to success.
2. Make Your Schedule Very Carefully
Picking your classes is so much more than finding subjects you enjoy. Looking at professors and class times can be as much if not even more important than the actual classes you take. It may seem like a good idea to ditch the 9:00 a.m. lectures until you find yourself sleeping in every day and having way less productivity. Although it might take some trial and error, it is super important to make sure your schedule will allow you to sleep, eat, and function semi-decently at the very least.
3. Pay Attention to Your Meal Plan
The UConn meal plan system is more confusing than math class. While I eventually got the hang of how the meal plan worked, I eventually stopped paying attention to how many points and flex passes I actually had left. Big mistake. I very quickly ran out of points and almost had to say goodbye to my beloved taco salads. Unfortunately, I went with the other option which was to start paying out of pocket whenever I wanted to dine at the Student Union. My bank account has suffered ever since.
4. Laundry Does Not Get Easier (in a traditional dorm at least)
Laundry is still my enemy. While I no longer have to visit North laundry room, I dread doing laundry all the same. I had hoped that all of the laundry disasters of freshman year would help me avoid any this year. I was proven wrong almost immediately. As I continue to wake up as early as possible and pray the washers will actually work today, I have concluded that communal laundry rooms will always suck. This does not mean that having clean clothes is a lost cause. Try your best to do laundry at an odd time, buy some Downy Unstopables, and know that you are not alone.
5. Spontaneity is Fun
I’ve always been a fan of planning my days down to the minute. If plans were not in my schedule I would not be attending them. This year I began to say yes to some more spontaneous adventures. Unfortunately, it has been super fun. I find this unfortunate because it has made me wonder about all of the missed opportunities of the past few years. Let’s just say I have learned my lesson well.
6. Don’t Let Negative Comments Get to You
Negative comments are inevitable. Whether it’s from friends, professors, or random strangers, it’s hard not to let these comments get to you. Throughout my life, I’ve dealt with my fair share of negative comments on assignments, rejected applications, and awkward friend moments. This year, I have made an effort to recognize that these instances do not define me or my work ethic.
7. Just Buy the Microwave
For some reason, I was adamantly against purchasing a microwave for my freshman-year dorm. I was extremely certain I would never use it. I mean, who could possibly be too lazy to go to the dining hall when it’s just a minute away? Me. The answer is me. Not only have I accepted that I am much lazier than I think, but I have also grossly underestimated the value of eating hot food. This lesson was aggressively thrown in my face when I contracted a bad case of strep throat a few months ago. Not only was I essentially bedridden, but my mental health was severely worsened by five straight days of ice-cold food. It was at that moment that I knew I must buy the damn microwave. It has been a blessing ever since.
8. Communicating with Your Roommate Actually Does Help
For a Communication major, I sure do suck at communicating sometimes. While I have had my fair share of roommate issues during the first year and a half of college, most of them were full of uncomfortable silences and a palpable tension that often went unresolved. When I started my fourth semester (and got a new roommate), I made a larger effort to actually talk to my roommate about any issues that arose. Almost instantly, living in a dorm became a little less awful. While this isn’t any sort of shocking revelation, if you need some extra encouragement, take this article as a sign to prioritize roommate communication.
9. Prioritize What Brings You Joy
Last year, I was all for getting super involved on campus and doing things I might not like. While I still believe in these things (especially for freshmen), sophomore year taught me that it’s equally important to evaluate why I felt a need to get super involved. After a while, I realized that I stuck with some of my on-campus involvement due to an odd sense of obligation — not because they actually brought me joy. Some may see lessening the amount on your plate as quitting, but I see it as prioritizing joy.
10. It’s Ok to Have a Major Crisis About Your Major
Back in October, I began to have doubts about my status as a journalism major. I was in the middle of some reporting-heavy classes and starting to realize that being a traditional reporter might not be for me. I started to spiral. How could I be a journalism major if I didn’t necessarily want to be a journalist? Was I even talented or confident enough to finish the semester strong? Should I just drop the major altogether? Having these doubts made me feel like a failure. The idea of switching your major had become less and less taboo over the years. But rarely did I hear stories of someone not liking bits and pieces of their major and still wanting to stay in the program. At this point, I expressed my concerns to some trusted individuals, but I was still nervous to tell most people. Through lots of self-reflection and career discovery, I feel confident that I have a place in the journalism program, even if my goals aren’t exactly traditional. I can now confidently say that it’s ok to have a crisis about your major.
11. Your People Are Out There
I told myself this article wouldn’t get too sappy, but here goes. During my freshman year, I was somewhat secretly battling awful mental health and an almost non-existent social life. It was agonizing to be away from home and alone most of the time. The idea of making friends baffled me, especially because I don’t go out often. I longed for a sense of community (and a way out of North residence halls) so I decided to apply for a learning community.
I was nervous that joining a learning community as a sophomore wouldn’t help my social life because friend groups would already be solidified. It turns out that most of the freshmen had decided to live somewhere else for sophomore year. While there would only be a handful of sophomores on my floor, I made it my mission to introduce myself to them as soon as possible. I basically spent all of last summer mentally preparing for the moment in which I would make my first impression. Even if our personalities weren’t similar, at least I would have some familiar faces on the floor. Very long story short, the people I met during the first few days of my sophomore year have become some of the best friends I have ever had. From dinners filled with belly laughs to late-night karaoke sessions, sophomore year has been largely shaped by the people that have inhabited it. I used to cry at the thought of returning to campus and now I cry at the thought of having to leave.
It sometimes feels like there’s a stigma around making mistakes past freshman year. I hope this article shows you that not only are mistakes inevitable, but they can also be incredibly useful. Despite all the mistakes, failures, and uncertainty, if sophomore year taught me one thing, it’s that college can be a pretty cool place.