Your freshman year of college is a time for self-discovery, messing up, trying to get your life together and attempting to tackle this whole college thing. Well, your second year of college is all of that but a little bit easier. You finally have a better grasp on scheduling classes, knowing where to sit in the dining hall, and what not to eat while you're there. However, sometimes you are still finding yourself, you might make a mistake or two, and getting your life together may often seem like a joke. Nevertheless, year two is an adventure that embodies many lessons in which I will now stop rambling and share with you.
1. Having a quarter-life crisis is not as rare as you think.
Many sophomores take this year to rediscover their passion or to completely change it. Choosing another major is okay (hopefully you attend a liberal arts institution). Doubting your chosen major is also okay. The expectations placed on millennials to know exactly what we want to do with the rest of our lives is unreasonable and unrealistic. Additionally, many professors will encourage you to reflect upon your first two years and depending on this, will incite you to change or keep your chosen field of study. If I have learned anything about deciding where my life is headed, it is that not knowing is okay.
N.B. To the psychology majors and scholars reading this, I know "mid-life crises" are a myth, however, there are many times in college when we sit down and reevaluate our chosen fields of study and future careers. I simply used the idiom for writing purposes only.
2. The food does not get better.
Most uncertain aspects of college grow on you after awhile. Unfortunately, dining hall food is not one of those things. However now you are more sure of what is okay to eat and what is not okay to eat. You most likely have a personal menu and plan already laid out in your head as you walk through the doors. If they do not have anything in the hot-line, you always have a back-up plan. You can usually point out the freshman because they are wandering around aimlessly with little direction as to how to survive in a unfortunate circumstance such as this. To be honest I still look lost in the dining hall sometimes. However, I have learned to express my frustration while eating cereal, a safe go-to meal.
3. Naps.
Naps are life. I have learned to value naps. If you learn nothing else from this article, remember to nap and love naps and breathe naps and just when in doubt nap.
4. Take a lot of pictures.
I know it is an overused cliche, but these four years are ones that you will not forget. So take pictures, write in a journal, document every moment.
5. Don't wish it away.
Yeah we all have our moments that we do not want to be at school any more and just wish we could go home. But we should really learn to treasure the four years that we have getting to study what we love, make memories with friends, do stupid things and not have to adult for just a little while longer.
6. Procrastinating is a horrible and beautiful thing.
Make sure that you do well under pressure and avoid all-nighters. Remember naps? Sleep is important too. SLEEP DAMN IT. You need it. If you have no choice but to have a late night, nap the next day. Procrastinate in a healthy environment that encourages sleep and eating a lot of food.
7. Appreciate your professors.
Listen to what they have to say and absorb as much as you can. They have so much intellect and experience to offer us, you just need to reach out and take it.
8. When you are home, hug your dog and never let him/her go.
You don't realize how much you love and treasure your little furry creatures until you leave home to go back to school. Sometimes your pets will seem cooler than people, it's probably because they are.
9. Do not be afraid to mess up.
We all make mistakes. [Insert Hannah Montana Lyric here]. Now is this time to break hearts, fall in love with the wrong people, fail a test, fight with your best friend and change your major fifty times. Fearlessly make mistakes.
10. Learn to love yourself.
Yes I know, another cliche. But it is SO important to be okay with who you are. Once you accept the the beautiful and horrible things about yourself, life is so much easier and fun. So don't forget to keep on keeping on and stay true to you.
