I'll go out on a limb here and say that I think most people are feeling like I am - junior year is not the best. After surviving freshman year and thriving sophomore year, it's difficult to think that this year will be better.
Flashback to freshman year: everything was new. I lived in a new (to me) dorm, away from my parents and in a new city. I became a member of a sorority and experienced everything that had to offer for the first time. I was showered with gifts and love from every new person I met. I had all new teachers and classes to learn as well as an entire new campus to try and navigate. But I think we can all agree that it was all this "new-ness" that made freshman year so exciting. I loved being a baby on campus, having what seemed like an endless amount of Paw Points at my leisure, and overusing the excuse "sorry, I'm a freshman" as often as possible.
Move forward a little to sophomore year: still new. I moved off campus and into a new apartment, I experienced the other side of rush for the first time, and I was still meeting new people, including finally getting a little. I kept hearing the term "sophomore slump" thrown around, but I didn’t really feel it. I was just excited to re-experience everything I had freshman year but with the knowledge of what's to come. Towards the end of freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year, I had found my personal group of friends that I did everything with. I felt older, but still young enough to live the "college life." Navigating campus from class to class became something I could do in my sleep.
Move forward a little more into the present - junior year. I've made it 2 years in my sorority, so I pretty much know how it all goes now. While I'm still very excited for all of the events, the excitement is a little dulled. I now know, pretty much down to the exact second, the latest I can leave my apartment and still make it to class on time. But aside from my class schedule, not much has changed. Same apartment, same friends, same major (hopefully). I'm halfway through college and the fear of becoming an "adult" is looming. The first-year excitement of freshman year has worn off, the sophomore feeling of "I've made it" is fading, and I'm not quite feeling that rush of excitement and nostalgia that seniors are feeling. The summer between junior and senior year is when we should be finding internships and figuring out what we want to do with the rest of our lives. Yikes.
So here's my proposition to all my fellow juniors out there: let's make this year our favorite year. Let's look forward to future jobs and internships, let's enjoy our second-to-last formal and football season, and let's still go to the exchanges and dress up like freshmen (especially 'cause I still feel like I am one). College is halfway over, and it's up to us to make the most out of these last two years.
