Everyone’s always going on about how they just caught up with that one friend who’s got their life so together; they’re in twenty clubs, they’ve got a 4.0 this semester, they just got an amazing summer internship, and they have their housing worked out for the next four years. Now let’s rephrase that; everyone’s got that one friend who they think has their entire life put together.
I can almost guarantee you that none of your friends actually have their lives completely together, and if they do I want some of whatever magic luck potion they are taking because those perfect college stories rarely happen. Most of the time, everyone has said that nothing actually was even close to being figured out for them until the end of their sophomore.
There are quite a few things that you don’t need to have figured out by the end of freshman or sophomore year.
1. Who your best friends are.
Sure, you’ve met a lot of great people in your building, clubs, classes, etc. But that doesn’t necessarily mean those will be your people forever. College is a time for change, and everyone is completely different by the end of senior year, so friendship dynamics may change. Be open to meeting new people, inclusivity, and not being dead set on a specific group of friends.
2. Your Major.
So many people change their major once, twice, seven…times before they settle into a comfortable topic of study. You don’t need to decide now what you want to do…although if it’s first semester junior year you should probably get that worked out soon.
3. What internship you’re going to do this summer.
You can take a summer off-gasp-I know that’s a scary concept. You actually don’t need to have an internship every summer in order to be successful. Take the summer off, go backpacking in Europe, have a small job in back home, spend time with your family. School is taxing, work is taxing, take some time to focus on what you want to be involved in outside of school.
4. HOUSING!
You don’t need to have your housing worked out for next year yet. You can take the time to figure out who you’re going to live with first, because trust me the group dynamic can change a lot during the semester.
It’s a better option to take your time, and figure out more about which options are best for you instead of just filling your life with what you think you need. Take your time, and appreciate the experience.