As you start your junior year of college, you will quickly realize that a lot of things have changed. Gone are the carefree college years, and now comes fun things like job recruiting and standardized tests. It's strange because this year really is the most reminiscent of high school.
So, as the GRE/LSAT/MCAT/OCR/difficult classes approach, these are probably some very common thoughts for the average student starting their junior year.
I envy all of these freshmen.
As the name-tag wearing, eager eyed freshmen waltz around campus, of course the occasional "oh freshies" comment escapes your mouth. But, while you may be mocking their lack of college experience out-loud, on the inside, you are probably dying to go back to those wild and careless days. They are just starting their college career, their classes aren't that hard yet, and they have zero responsibilities greater than making friends and partying 5 days a week.
Are Frat parties even fun?
At the beginning of college, Frat parties seemed like the best thing ever. There was always a ton of people, a raised surface to dance on, and cute boys/girls to chat/booty-bump with. Now, my perspective has changed. Every time I step into one of the dimly-lit fraternity houses, I immediately realize it is 4000 degrees, there are approximately too many people in this house (specifically too many freshman), and I constantly have to avoid being touched so that people will not feel how sweaty and gross I have become. Moral of the story, this is no longer fun.
OCR—FML.
On-campus recruiting (OCR) is now in your very near future. This will be a time to constantly wear business casual clothing, not get enough sleep, and have too many awkward interviews in a short amount of time. Sounds like fun, no?
Why are all my friends leaving me?
With junior year starting, the season of the mass exodus of junior students to different countries also begins. It's study abroad season. If you are studying abroad, then you get to have the familiar anxiety of making new friends in a foreign place and have FOMO while browsing all the pictures of your friends already back on campus. If you aren't studying abroad, you will feel sufficiently friend-less all of the sudden and have FOMO over all of the amazing Euro-Instagrams your friends abroad are posting. Seems like a lose-lose situation.
I'm like a real adult now.
This is the scariest and worst thought of all. You may think that this is a thought you have your senior year, but let's be honest. By senior year, you are so far in denial about graduating that you are probably just drunk all the time so that you don't realize how old you've become. But by junior year, you have most likely turned 20, which sucks. You are starting to plan your career and grad school years, and you are acutely aware of how close to the real world you are. Gotta love it.
Enjoy junior year everyone—or at least try to.