So, apparently I've heard (this year and last year) that the average college student hits a road bump their sophomore year, about mid-semester, after the all the crazy back-to-school shenanigans are over.
This 'road bump' usually is full of questions. What am I doing here? What am I going to do after I leave? Should I start working? Do I want to go home this summer, or live near campus? Will I ever be truly independent? How am I going to manage that? Am I going to get an internship? Am I going to study abroad? Am I going to Graduate School? What is the meaning of life? What really is in the MDR's Ooey Gooey?
Okay...well, maybe not those last two.
But, let me tell you, boys and girls, this 'sophomore slump' is true. At least for me, and a various amount of my sophomore friends. I've asked myself nearly everyone of those questions. I've worried, wrote lists, made changes, studied, applied...all kinds of stuff.
To be honest, I think this is perfectly natural. You've had one full school year to test out college independence, and now you're in deep. Life is coming at you fast. But really, as long as you don't let it get to your head, everything will be fine. It's kind of like a mid-life crisis thing, you may lose sleep by staying up longer than you intended talking with your friends about it, or researching that career you may want to take in the future on the internet, but it's all apart of growing up. It'll pass, and you'll most likely be a better person because of it, because you have a reality check of what's coming up, what's going on, and what you may or may not need to do. Self-acceptance and recognition, I guess you could say.
Sorry if that was too philosophical for anyone. Apparently this slump thing turns you into Socrates, or Plato, or something.
I believe I've said it before, and I'll say it again, college isn't all about the education and books and grades. Of course, that's really very important, believe me, that's why you are here, but you also pay for something else very special. The experience of being at college. The social life, the parties, the late night games of frisbee out of Schaff Lawn, the lunches in the MDR that you laugh so hard you want to cry or spit your milk out, or even just sitting in your room/common room/greek room/bathroom and having a heart-to-heart with someone. It's important to remember Newton's Laws, or what China's foreign policy is for a class, yes. But the memories in college are the memories that you'll have for a really, really long time. So, if you're already in college, or looking at colleges, remember: when you're here, study as hard as you can, but also remember to talk to people and maybe do something you normally wouldn't do. College is all about the experience.
With that being said, I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite movies...
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
-Ferris Bueller
Have a good rest of your week!
Love and happiness,
xoxoheather
P.S.- Michelle Obama is coming to campus on Friday! I think Capital's knocked off at least 3/4 of the ballot with all of these presidential candidates and representatives coming to visit.