Your mom, dad, sister, and roommate's brother aren't kidding when they introduce your Freshman year by saying: "College goes by so fast. Enjoy it while you can!" Soon enough, you're about to enter your Junior year and you find yourself experiencing a whirlwind of feelings and thoughts all at the same time. If this is you, you're probably experiencing the five stages of becoming an upperclassman laid out below and have said many of these very same things to yourself.
1. Excitement
Goodbye, Freshman and Sophomore year! I'm no longer at the bottom of the totem pole. No more being made fun of for wearing a lanyard everywhere. Becoming an upperclassman means getting more involved with my major field of study, more extracurricular opportunities, and more professional and career opportunities (not to mention better housing opportunities). The world is my oyster and I'm ready for it!
2. Disbelief
I can't believe I'm going to be a rising Junior this semester! That's just so crazy. Really, where has the time gone? I just can't believe that I only have two years left. It feels like I moved into my Freshman year dorm room yesterday, and now I'm about to move into an apartment? That means doing dishes and I don't know how I'm going to balance that on top of everything else.
3. SHEER PANIC
Wait, I only have two years left...that means I have two years to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have no idea what I'm doing for the rest of my life, I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow! What if I picked the wrong major?? What if I get bored of my major and have to switch to a brand new one?? At least that'd buy me some time. Ugh and everyone is going to start getting married soon and I'll probably just end up with a lot of dogs. Yeah, they won't care if I don't have a job. Well, maybe, because I have to have money to feed them all.
4. Facing Reality
Okay, calm down. I might only have two years left, but there's still time to figure out what I want to do with my life. It might be tricky and it might be pretty hard to make some of these life decisions, but they've gotta be done. The classes will probably be harder too, but that just means I really have to buckle down and put the work in.
5. Acceptance
Yeah, I can do this. I still have time left to enjoy these last few years and make these decisions. And I can't start slacking off now. No, no. Now is the time to put in the work, get great grades, have some unforgettable times with my friends, get to know some new people, and have a great time before I'm forced into the real world. First step: I'm going to go buy an outrageous amount of school supplies that will help me be more productive.
