Having survived my first week back at college as a sophomore, I noticed quite a few differences from when I arrived here a scared and lonely freshman only a year ago. From getting all my boxes together at my house, to my first couple days of classes that seemed to fly by, a number of things have definitely been easier this time around.
Packing
This year’s packing session went ten times smoother than last years. This time, instead of going online and printing off multiple freshman guides to packing for college from people’s blogs, I knew exactly what I needed. I also knew what I didn’t need, and what items all those lists ensured me I would use but never ended up being necessary, like an iron and ironing board, or my entire winter wardrobe that ended up taking way to much space in my closet during the last scorching weeks of summer freshman year, and could have been stored at home until Thanksgiving.
Move-In Day
The hour and a half drive up to school was significantly different this year. Instead of biting my nails and feeling sick to my stomach with nerves the whole way there - worrying about my classes, where my room was, how I would even begin to make new friends - I was completely calm, and even excited to be going back. This time I had friends from last year to look forward to seeing, and I knew exactly how the move-in process worked. I could just enjoy the ride.
Once at my dorm with all my boxes, my mom and grandparents helped me empty them into my new room, just like last year. But once they helped me figure out where the big items would go - my computer, television, and printer - they left. There was no need for them to stay with me as long as possible or explore the campus to get the lay of the land. I felt comfortable telling them they could leave, knowing my friends were on their way over to help me finish setting up my room.
The First Weekend
The first couple of days before classes, that pressure of making new friends was nonexistent. Sure, meeting new people is always nice, but there was no need to cling on to whoever decided to talk to me for more than five minutes in the hopes they would want to become better friends. Instead I reunited with old friends, catching up and going out to do fun things without having to worry about a freshman orientation schedule. There was a sense of laid-back freedom replacing the stress that was so overwhelming the year before.
First Day of School
The first day of classes seemed to go much smoother than last year’s since I didn’t have to begin figuring my way around the enormous campus. I already knew the layout of the campus and where certain buildings were. Some of my classes were in buildings I had previously had class in, so it was a breeze locating those. Even if I wasn’t familiar with where a class was located, I knew i would be able to find it on the map and get there no problem. There was no need to panic that I may get lost and be late, no need to show up a half hour early, now I knew five or ten minutes would do.
Familiar Faces
There was more of a sense of belonging as I walked about campus going to and from my classes this week. Now, instead of homesickness getting the better of me, and thinking I saw people who looked like my old high school classmates or hometown friends, I saw people I recognized from my old dorm and previous classes, my friends sometimes being among the faces passing me on the sidewalk. It made me feel like I had a more set place in the chaotic world of college, and nothing could be more comforting than that feeling of fitting in a big place like this.
The Wisest of Fools
In Greek, the word sophomore translates to the two words "wise" and "foolish". I found this hidden description to be especially accurate. As much as this new sense of belonging and wisdom leads us to think we now have college down pat, us second years still have some learning and growing to do. Sure we have some valuable pieces of knowledge gained from last year in our arsenal, like knowing not to buy $500 in textbooks before syllabus week because chances are you won’t need them. But some of us still find ourselves sitting in the wrong class on the first day, and it can still be stressful getting into the swing of our schedules. No matter how invincibly independent we think we now are, that twang of homesickness still hits us from time to time and a visit home is much needed. We’d like to think we are now so much more capable than the timid little freshman; that we are the wisest of the wise. But the reality is that we are still foolish in some ways, and are merely the wisest of the fools on campus. Us wise fools still have a little ways to grow and so much more to learn.
