You know those moments that leave a small trace of a smile on your face as they take you back to an extraordinary day? The moments you wish you could travel back in time to if only to relish every second of that spectacular experience? When it comes to my special moments, my freshman year of college certainly is not on the top of my list; in fact, it's not even on my list at all. Yes, freshman year was a one-of-a-kind experience and as a person, I learned more about myself in those short nine months than I had in all of my nineteen years of life. And while I met amazing people and did things I never would have done had I not gone to college, I can't say I want to relive that fear of the unknown: the terrible, anxiety-inducing adjustment period that lasted a little longer for me than for most others. Long story short: I'm thankful that I found my niche.

With that said, I, along with countless others, believed that coming into sophomore year would be an absolute breeze. I already established my place here on campus; I had friends, a job, and was a member of lots of different clubs. I knew what it felt like to be away from home for a while; why would I have any trouble coming back?

But like everything I say or think, the opposite usually happens. Don't get me wrong--I couldn't wait to come back to school. I missed my college life as a whole, especially the freedom that comes with living on my own. I think the best part about coming back was knowing I would never live in a hot, sticky dorm again; this time, I'd be able to live with my friends in a house. I was finally starting to feel like more of an adult.

Upon arrival, my heart raced with excitement seeing the entrance to my beautiful school. Knowing all my friends were in the house waiting for me made my heart warm with love. And before I knew it, I ushered my family out the door, ready to take on sophomore year. But after a while, loneliness started to seep into my brain. This year was certainly a different dynamic than last year; I was not surrounded by fifty girls living on the same floor. And I wasn't the only one who had established their life here on campus. My friends had, too, so they were already off living their lives while I was stuck in the house moving in. Being in an empty house, I was only surrounded by my thoughts, and after a while, my train of thought went AWOL. Will this year really be a great year? What if everything changed after being away for three months? Will this be freshman year all over again? All these thoughts and more raced through my mind as I hung up pictures of home on my wall.

However, I quickly realized that time truly does fix all. It's hard to come back to school after being away for the whole summer, and it's especially difficult to truly be living on your own for the first time. And who doesn't still get first-day-of-school jitters? But eventually, you fall back into the rhythm of college life and begin to build the next chapter from the ground up.

While the "sophomore breeze" may just be a myth, remember that it takes everyone different amounts of time to adjust to change. So, like Dory says, "just keep swimming," and you'll be on your way to a great new year.