Wikipedia defines the sophomore slump as this:
An instance in which a second, or sophomore, effort fails to live up to the standards of the first effort.
I’m a sophomore in college now, and I’ll tell you that freshman year me didn’t believe in the sophomore slump. But here I am at the close of my third semester of college telling you that it is in fact a real thing. Now of course it doesn’t have to be for everyone, but here’s how it happened for me.
I came into college at the beginning of this semester thinking it would be so great because I didn’t have to worry about making friends. I did that freshman year. I already knew what to expect for classes since I had been taking them for a whole year. Lastly, I got involved in some pretty cool areas on campus so I just knew this semester was going to be so great.
But then, as the definition above states, it failed to live up to the standards I had set the year before. Let’s face it, if you go in with everything you got and make the most of it, freshman year rocks. Everything is new and exciting, and your class load is not as heavy so you have more time to go on those spur of the moment late-night adventures. So no pressure freshman, but (focus on school) and enjoy the heck out of this year. But with sophomore year you can most definitely go on those spur of the moment trips, don’t you worry, but life seems to get busier and classes are a bit harder.
I found myself going through the semester thinking, “what is going on with my life?” But I’m not alone in this; many of my friends and other fellow sophomores that I have talked to have been going through this same thing. So I just want to know, what’s the deal with sophomore slump? Why is it such a trend? Am I not allowed to make great expectations for my second year of college without that yucky sophomore slump creeping in?
So here are my thoughts on second semester…just like I thought for first semester, it’s going to be great. The slump came with change and it made me learn. I’m only one person with 24 hours in a day and therefore I can’t be involved in anything and everything. It sucks, but you have to decide what’s important and give some things up. Oh, surprise, I attend college for a degree and not for a social life (not always the most appealing reality to think about). It’s impossible to be friends with everyone and that’s okay. Cherish those close relationships, and don’t stress over the surface-level ones. The sophomore slump happens, but it doesn’t have to take over your life. So don’t let it! Enjoy sophomore year despite the change, and just know that you’re not the only one going through the “sophomore slump”.
