Coming back from a summer of everlasting memories, I thought this year is going to be amazing. I will finally get to live with all of my best friends in an amazing house, take classes for my major, turn 21, and have my car. I soon realized all those things came with major cons. Once I recovered from syllabus week -- not from just the alcohol but from the amount of work my professors threw at me -- I understood then and there that this year was not what I expected.
The following week, my life completely changed from last year. I was now paying rent and utilities for a house I just moved into, moving cars from my driveway so my roommates could get to class on time, and dealing with annoying neighbors. Living on campus last year was completely different; you don’t have staff cleaning after your messes anymore. I started to get way more stressed out then I ever have been previously. The angst and tension in my house was building because we all felt the pressure that junior year comes with. Everyone always says there's a “sophomore year slump,” but they should call junior year the “junior year panic.”
During junior year so far, I have learned that it is crucial to pay attention in your classes. Gone are the days of online shopping during lectures; the things your professors are saying now are actually pertaining to your future careers. Getting good grades in these classes is very important because it makes or breaks your future career choices. If you aren’t doing well in your major, then you should probably change it now before you put on your cap and gown. This year is also the time to apply to grad school and internships. If you haven’t applied for an internship yet, then you should now go on LinkedIn and get connecting. (If you don’t have a LinkedIn then you should have visited your career counselor a year ago.)
Besides gaining knowledge to help us in the future, we also learn a lot about ourselves during junior year. You learn about how much you can take on without getting stressed and what type of person you are (I realized I am very much a type A person). As we grow into upperclassmen, we start to grow out of the party scene. Junior year is annoying because half of your friends are starting to turn 21 and half don’t until senior year. You start to crave a little less of the sweaty house party scene and just want to watch Netflix all night. We start to get more tired and don’t have the stamina to rally like we did freshman year. You want so desperately to grow up and just be 21 and go to bars, but at the same time you want to stay the same. You start to want a new change of scenery and not want to see the same people at the same parties.
Although junior year has been a really big struggle so far, every year comes with a lesson. Everything happens for a reason. If you are working extra hard to get that amazing internship, then it will pay off. If you just want to party and drink your day away, then that’s your decision and those memories will carry with you forever. Either way you look at junior year, it's your chose what you do with it. Just try to remember you are still in college and cant take those years back.
