No one talks about the transition from freshman to sophomore year. It’s a shift that sneaks up on you—different, bittersweet, lonelier, and harder in so many ways. My Google Calendar has become my lifeline, filled with color-coded blocks of classes, club meetings, and lab hours. Despite it being so busy, I’m trying to make the most of it.
This year has been about stepping out of the comfort zone I established freshman year. Moving off-campus, taking on a heavier workload, navigating friendships, and embracing new opportunities have been the defining features of my sophomore year so far. Unlike freshman year, where most of my energy went into adjusting to college life, I’m finally doing the things I’ve always wanted to do. I’m taking classes I love, working in a lab where I’m learning so much, and meeting people who share the same academic and professional interests as me. I’m taking classes I genuinely enjoy—ones that make me excited to learn and align perfectly with my interests. Diving deeper into systems and synthetic biology with courses and research labs has been thrilling, and it’s reaffirming my love for this field. It’s fulfilling and exciting, but boy, balancing classes, clubs, work, and life gets overwhelming real quick.
However, balancing everything comes with a cost. Some of my closest friendships from freshman year have started to feel distant. With everyone juggling different schedules, it’s harder to find time to meet. When we used to spontaneously grab dinner or hang out in someone’s dorm, now we have to plan weeks in advance. It’s been hard to accept that some friendships might not stay the same, but I’ve learned to cherish the time we do get to spend together, no matter how rare. At the same time, I’ve been meeting new people through the labs and classes. It’s refreshing to connect with others who share similar goals and interests as me, and those connections remind me that change can be a good thing.
One of the hardest transitions has been moving off-campus. I still miss the convenience of the dining commons, where meals were ready without effort and the second servings of dessert were guilt-free. I miss popping into a friend’s dorm or heading to the Tercero quad for random events with free food. Honestly, I even miss the RA events—yes, I went to almost all of them, and they were fun, alright? Even going into the communal bathrooms felt like a social event where a “quick chat” often turned into hours of conversation. Moving into an apartment has been an entirely different experience. My housemates and I have wildly different schedules, so the place often feels empty. Catching up with them usually only happens on weekends. It gets lonely, and I’d be lying (even as an introvert) if I said I didn’t miss the social energy the dorms used to bring. But over time, I’ve come to appreciate the freedom of having my own space. After living in a triple last year, I’m loving the luxury of having a corner of my apartment to myself. Living in an apartment has brought new responsibilities, however. Grocery shopping, cooking, and paying bills have become a regular part of my life, and while they’re not always fun, it’s teaching me all about adulting!
Sophomore year has been a journey so far—a balancing act between independence and loneliness, challenges and opportunities, holding on and letting go. It’s not the same as freshman year, but I’m finding myself through these new experiences. While it’s bittersweet in many ways, it’s also shaping me into a more self-reliant and independent person. And that, I think, is what college is all about.