After every year of college, you learn new things that you never really discovered in previous years. I think this especially applies to sophomores, who are starting to see their school through new eyes, rather than just through the lens of being a freshman. So, without further ado, here are 12 things I myself learned from my sophomore year of college.
1. College is home.
In freshman year, for me at least, college just kind of seemed like a long vacation full of work. It was fun, but it seemed impermanent. Sophomore year is when you really start to get used to the fact that this is where you'll be spending several years of your life. You get into a comfortable groove eventually, and things just start to settle into place.
2. Studying must be taken seriously.
This year, I really started to learn that you can't just blow off studying. Freshman core classes were easy enough that I never really had to invest much time in them. However, this year, I began to learn that there are some classes that you just can't coast through.
3. Real friends stick around.
Sure, freshman year was full of new and exciting people, but not all of them will have your back throughout four years of school. Sophomore year is when you really begin to learn who your friends are, and who you will still be friends with at the end of this all.
4. Plans change.
I very rarely talk to people in college who have the same plan now that they started with at the beginning of freshman year. Sophomore year is when a lot of people really begin to question their paths, and that's totally fine. I came into college planning to just major in biology on the pre-med track, but now I'm working on an English major as well, and I'm loving every minute of it.
5. Professors are people too.
I don't know about you, but I was pretty intimidated by a lot of my freshman year professors. However, it's kind of hard to be intimidated when they send you an informal email at 1 o'clock in the morning because they're trying to help you with your paper. When they see you in Starbucks and wave, don't be afraid to stop by and say hello.
6. Procrastination gets easier.
For some reason, it's so much easier to put off doing work when you have so much of it to do. It's almost like the more work you have, the less motivation you have to do it. I never really felt that in freshman year, because I didn't really have as much work as I do now. However, it has to be done at some point, and trust me, you don't want to be trying to submit it two minutes before deadline.
7. Ignore frustrating people.
This year, I've had to deal with some of the most frustrating, difficult people I have ever met in my entire life. I've tried being nice, compromising, and talking, but nothing seems to work. Eventually, you just learn to ignore them. Doing anything else will just give you added stress that you don't need in your life, believe me.
8. Don't live in a bubble.
Some people just live inside the giant bubble of campus, never leaving except to get supplies. This year, I've really started to learn that there is so much to do off-campus that I'd never known about before. There are all sorts of interesting places, people, and events in the city that you just won't know about if you limit yourself to one place.
9. The year goes by quickly.
This might just be something you learn in every year of college, but the days really do go by so quickly. Before you know it, it's summer, and you're wishing you could spend just one more week here with your friends. Three months of summer really does seem so long when you think about it.
10. It's okay to let go of the past.
Sometimes, freshmen are way too focused on where they came from, often to the extent that they are unable to fully engage in new experiences. As a sophomore, I really learned to let go of the past. It's much more productive to look to the future than to dwell on things that have already happened and can't be changed.
11. Naps are your friend.
I've never been someone who really likes to nap. When I'm awake, I'm awake. But when you have classes at 8 a.m. three days a week, sometimes naps are your only option. Embrace it.
12. Be open to new experiences.
A lot of people seem to think that freshman year is the time to have new experiences, and you have to be stuck in a rut by the time you're a sophomore. That is definitely not true. Life in general is more interesting when you're open to new things. It's never too late to try something new.
