I never imagined Sophomore year to be this stressful.
Life has always been full of rough times and the good times just barely covered up the hurt. Despite all of that, I have made it through above and beyond what I thought I was capable of doing. At least with school, other students tell you what years will suck the most that have the most work or when you have to apply for various opportunities.
Sophomore year is a beast and do not let anyone tell you differently.
Maybe it was not just all of the sophomore activities, but everything coming to a head.
When you are asked to declare your major and proceed to list every class, but have to find course codes for electives you are not sure will be offered again. It brings your attention to all of the work that is ahead of you and what you are behind on.
The upside to this, I have never been more excited about my major. I declared a double major in Organizational Studies with a concentration in Arts Management and Theatre with a minor in Africana Studies. Late night talks with friends and my bosses led me to learn about my strengths and my passions. Opportunities that I do not think I could have gotten anywhere else.
The daunting summer. Looming over your head reminding you of the various decisions that you have to make to determine your entire summer.
I am lucky and have multiple opportunities that I am heavily considering. However, it is difficult not being super excited after an interview for one of the opportunities. My top 2 choices deliver very different experiences that would both be transformative. It the stress of not knowing what the “right” decision is.
Sophomore year is not stressful like senior year with applying for job opportunities or thesis. It is it’s own ball of stress that begins to force you to figure out your path. It produces a majority of the class frantic to make deadlines just to take a classic major declaration picture in front of Dennison like everyone else.
On top of all that, a shout-out to student leaders, student workers, and super-involved students. It is a running joke with everyone I know that I am constantly running around and that I do not know free time. It’s true. I like being busy, involved, and creating things. In my mind, opportunities are once-in-a-lifetime type things, which is DEFINITELY not true. The students mentioned are thriving in resume/skills, yet are exhausted juggling everything and class.
Mentally it all takes a toll. I am struggling to trust myself and make the best decisions for me without letting what I am “supposed” to do influence every action. So these next few words are for those in the Class of 2020 and for those coming after us.
You are not defined by your major (unless you’re pre-med or an engineering, these words may not be for you), I am not sure how many times I have mentioned this, but I think it’s important. Try to do the things that make you feel good. If you have a bad feeling about something, then really dig into why it makes you feel that way. Use this time to explore all the avenues of yourself and do not limit yourself to what you think you can do or what people tell you to do. We will get through this sophomore year.
