The Perspective Of A College Sophomore Who Finally Knows How To 'Student'

Well, I'm a sophomore. Honestly, I do not know how time passed this fast. I'm way past the first year of college where I lived in the dorms, shared communal bathrooms and gathered collectively in dining halls to eat. I experienced shared living quarters with freshman students from all over the country and world. And now, I am in my second semester of Sophomore year where I currently live in a sorority house with over sixty women.

And a lot has changed in my life in the past year and a half. I feel the pressure of declaring a major at the back of my throat constantly. I have to decide if I want to go abroad for a semester in the upcoming months. I am also in the midst of looking for a summer internship before heading into my junior year. The pressure to do well and succeed in college is way more overwhelming than freshman year. And it came on so quickly. But everyone says that.

I am at an odd stage of college. I know I only have two years left of living the lifestyle of a fulltime student, which is scary. Like really scary. But two years is a long time as well and a lot can change within two years. But it is still uncomfortable to know that time is passing this quickly.

It makes me consider how lucky I am to have experienced three wonderful semesters at the University of Michigan regardless of the challenges and barriers I have faced. I am lucky to have met people I consider basically family at a University five hundred miles from home. I am lucky to have taken such interesting courses taught by outrageously smart professors who are the best in their fields. I am lucky and grateful for the organizations and opportunities to get involved in social organizations as well as volunteer organizations and research while here. It is comforting that I have proven to myself that I have become an independent human being, sometimes lol, no matter how much I will always miss my family back home. I still hate doing laundry, though.

As a sophomore, I now know the nitty gritty of the student life. I think I know how to manage a larger workload during a semester and manage my time with ease (Thank you, Google Calendar). I know how to navigate resources for finding help regarding classes and health. And I also learned how to use Ann Arbor's bus system, The Ride, which is extremely helpful when I'm running late and I have a twenty-five-minute walk ahead of me. I think I've got how to be a student down. Finally. This feeling of being content as a student took a long time, but in my fourth semester at the University of Michigan, I think I got it.

I don't know what is ahead of me in my student life, but I now know how to prepare for what is ahead of me. I am extremely grateful to be a Sophomore at the University of Michigan regardless of how scared I am that I only have two years left at the greatest university in the world.