You poor forgotten souls. No longer an innocent and lost-looking freshman, yet light years away from your 21st birthday, as well as the honor of calling yourself a senior. You've said your goodbyes to your freshman dorm and shed a tear of either joy or sorrow when you and your roommate had to close that door for the last time. You've exchanged your meal plan and ID card lanyard for new digs, like an apartment or Greek/Non-Greek House. You made a lot of headway freshman year and a lot of mistakes (like actually buying all of your books, ha).
However, as college sophomores, you face a lot of the biggest decisions and milestones possible in your short four years. Fresh out of my sophomore year, I can fully attest to the truth of that statement. It's incredibly exciting as well as completely petrifying. That is why I would like to give you all four very important pieces of advice that will hopefully ease the transition from being the newbies to being under-appreciated sophomores.
1. Don't freshman the freshmen.
Just three short months ago, you were sitting in what is now one of their beds, crying because you were leaving your beloved floor-mates, so don't judge them for walking in packs these first few weeks. They are scared, and so were you.
2. Don't freak out if you're still in limbo with your major.
Although everyone around you might be setting their five year plan into motion and to getting their lives together, they, just like you, have probably already changed their major three to seven times. Don't force yourself into a major or plan simply because you feel the pressure to have everything figured out. This, more than anything, is your year to figure out what you want to do and be, and things like that take time. My advice:study hard, finish your general education requirements, and fill the open spaces with classes that sound interesting. Not a music major? Take a voice class. I guarantee it'll give you some confidence and friends, and you'll sound better in the shower. The acoustics in the dorm bathrooms can really kill your vibe.
3. There's more to being underage than being underage.
We all dream about the infamous tinted green and red light beckoning towards us from Kirkwood, the "epitome" of the Bloomington experience: Kilroy's. I call bullshit. No, you have not yet reached the ripened age that allows you to legally abuse alcohol, but that does not mean that your ability to go out and have fun is completely out the window. Freezing in the cold walking from fraternity to fraternity sophomore year and learning how to wear a jacket junior year are all key lessons that teach us how to go to the bars.
4. These are the crucial 'weeding-out of bad friends' years.
This is my final and most important piece of advice, so I will try and cut back on the sarcasm. As you first arrive at college, its important to be open and meet as many people as you can. Chances, are your home-bubble is about to get popped, and you'll make friends with different personalities, ethnicities, and agendas. It is important to love and respect all of your "baes," but if something seems off, it usually is. When you find yourself discovering that one of your friends is not who you initially thought they were (and it happens to all of us), it is not a death sentence to the friendship, but it is definitely worth rethinking.
These in-between years do a lot for you. They teach you how to find your classes, go to parties, figure out what you really want in a friend, and what you want to find in yourself. It's a lot of fun to be an in-betweener, and these days won't last forever, so take advantage of them as best you can, because we're all trying not to count (208).
