Well, it’s almost that time of year again.

With summer coming to a close and welcome week on the horizon, men and women of all ages are swapping swimsuits for sweaters, passion fruit iced tea lemonades for pumpkin spice lattes, and pure happiness for absolute euphoria…or maybe that’s just me. I’ve always loved the start of school—new school supplies, perfect jeans-and-a-t-shirt weather, and the promise of new teachers that (hopefully) don’t suck as much as your previous one. As I’ve grown older and graduated from crayons and circle time to syllabus week and office hours, I have begun to approach the start of the school year with a new attitude.

     Prior to starting my freshman year of college, I thought that creating a Pinterest board entitled “I Love College” (super witty, I know) was enough to prepare me for what is said to be one of the best years of my life. Needless to say, I discovered quite quickly that half the things I packed into my car for my dorm room were unnecessary and the other half took up more space than was available in my portion of the 11x12 room. My Pinterest board also never mentioned anything about college textbooks. I, like a typical freshman, strolled into the campus bookstore and bought all of my books the week before classes started—full-price, brand-new textbooks. Those of you that are in college or have already gone through it know that college textbooks are not to be bought new. They are either to be rented for a fraction of the cost or purchased by that rando you found on the Michigan textbook group that would rather wear Ohio State gear than keep the book that reminds them of how close they came to failing Econ. 

     I made a lot of mistakes that freshman typically make, despite the fact I had over 1,000 pins on my “I Love College” board. But that was then and this is now. As a sophomore I almost feel required to have my sh*t together. I now know that you shouldn’t eat Pizza House and Insomnia Cookies in one night. You also should carry your laptop charger with you AT ALL TIMES, or else risk the possibility of it dying ten minutes into lecture and having to get your notes from your adorably incompetent bestie. As far as living goes, less is more. You don’t need as much microwavable oatmeal as you packed and you definitely don’t need to worry about bringing vases for your fake flowers (that’s what empty vodka bottles are for!) I can guarantee that I’ll screw up multiple times this upcoming year, but then again, isn’t that what college is for? As long as you screw up less than it takes to fail out of school, you’re in the clear. 

     So…here’s to you, sophomore year. Please give me the strength to go to the UGLi, even when I’d rather be watching Suits in my bed. Help me actually listen in lecture this year as opposed to stalk that weird girl who lived in my hall last year. Also, and this is a huge request, let me sleep. Between exams, work, and my social life (which is muy importante), I need to stay healthy. What better way to do so than sleep? Let me catch some Z’s and I swear we will get along just fine. Love you already and can’t wait to meet you.

XOXO,

Caroline