Dear Sophomore Slump-er,  

I’m writing this letter because I see you. I see your struggle, I’ve felt your struggle, and I know how lonely it feels. But let me put your mind at ease: the sophomore slump is a real thing and you are not alone. So let me throw some things at you that you just might be feeling.

Freshman year was great, right? Seriously, you LOVED college. You were literally nailing it on all fronts- the friends, the grades, the lack of homesickness- you had it all covered. You went home for summer and couldn't wait to do it all over again. But when you finally got settled into your new sophomore living arrangements, something wasn't right. Something's not the same. 

Driving to campus isn’t as fun as you imagined. Your classes are harder. Your friends aren’t next door anymore. Suddenly, these small differences start turning into big differences. Your good grades start diminishing and you aren’t sure your major is for you anymore. Maybe your distance from your freshman friends becomes more than just physical distance, or perhaps your scale is telling you obscene things... that you’re 15 pounds heavier. (Ok, maybe a little more.) 

Overall, sophomore year just really isn’t living up to the first one and it blows. This time last year, I was exactly where you are now. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be freshman Me anymore and it was majorly bumming me out. But enough with what you already know and feel; I want to talk about what you have the potential to be.

Here’s the hard truth: You are never going to be your freshman self again. Freshman You was here for a reason and it was to be exactly that- to be a freshman. Now it's time to start developing the actual, real life, grown-up You that will be around a whole lot longer than freshman You was. Once you make this realization, you can start reminiscing on freshman year in a positive, constructive way. Hell yeah, freshmen year was great! But now you are moving on to bigger and better things. 

Next, make changes. If you aren’t happy in your major, find a new one. If you are, get excited! Start looking up possible career goals and think about the person you want to be in five years. Where do you picture yourself living and working? How do you picture yourself feeling?  Once you have this image, it’s a lot easier (and more exciting) to make changes that move you in that direction.

My next, and possibly most important, piece of advice to you is to stay busy. The more free time I had while in the sophomore slump, the less I tended to accomplish. You could find an internship that gets you closer to the future self you imagined, join a new club and meet interesting people, or start a new exercise plan to help look and feel brand new. Any change is good, and it will help kick start other changes. 

Overall, take comfort knowing that you are not the only person who has felt this way in college. Stop cringing every time a relative talks about how college is the best years of your life and thinking the opposite, because you are still only a sophomore. Just because you’re in a slump now does not mean you have to stay in one.  Pick yourself up, remind yourself who you want to be, and start baby-stepping your way towards becoming that person. Before you know it, you'll wake up loving yourself and your life even more than you did your freshman year. 

Sincerely,

An Un-Slumped Junior

(P.S. This song is exactly what you need right now and you know it.)