At Butler, advising has begun for the spring semester. You probably just read that sentence and thought, "wow, already?" and yes, this semester is closing down faster than we can hold onto it. If you're like me, this has been a pretty difficult semester. Making sure to find an internship, excel in classes, and keep up with material while leading and being involved in clubs on campus begins to kill you alive. It's the first semester where you're taking relevant classes in your major and they are LOADED with material. Literally, I feel like I stuff my brain with material every single day, and each day my brain feels like it is in overdrive to figure out what the heck I'm shoving into it. I knew I was good at memorizing material, but this semester has put that statement to the test. The material has been denser, there are harder quizzes and less time. You try to get through each week every week. I always tell myself, "just get to Friday" and the weekends become the only time I can let my brain rest and get some socializing in; of course if I don't have an exam on Monday.
The internship search has become real now, adding additional stress to my already existent school schedule. In my spare time, I am researching companies or looking for internships to apply for. At Butler, we have to have 2 internships to graduate- you have to plan well to make sure you can fit them in while also taking classes on the side. Yaay. I feel like I am always getting different advice. I've spent countless hours getting resume critiques, and the more I'm involved in this process, the more I see the class material I have been learning become more and more relevant to life outside the classroom. It's daunting thinking about only being a junior, how I have one year left but yet I feel like you have so much yet to learn. Am I really ready for the outside world in one year? Yikes.
As a junior in college, I can attest that these are the things that we are all thinking about. We are all trying to make sure we take the classes needed to graduate on time, to hit the GPA we need, to apply for internships and nail them, to pass classes, and make sure we figure out our life and career while being involved on campus. We are all just doing the best we can. We still want to have some fun along the way. This year, I have tried very hard to make sure I give myself some fun and socialization so that I don't get swept overboard into the sea of school 24/7. I have to relax my brain and I have to still further relationships and make time for others. All of this is a lot harder than it looks.
Juniors, I know this is a rough time. We are in this together. Have faith that everything will work out the way that it is supposed to.
