There is one thing that most college students have to fear and that is - the sophomore slump. The sophomore slump is when a person's second year in college fails to live up to the first, and it ultimately seems that everything has slowed down.

Sophomore year can be quite dull and boring and here in Albany, a city known for its long chilly winters, seasonal depression tends to hit really hard and harm a person's general mood and enthusiasm. Couple this with the sophomore slump, where everything isn't as new and fun as it was the first year since students have settled into college life by now, and you get one sad sack of human couch potatoes. Schoolwork seems so much more daunting and although we make an effort to go and have fun, it's often super cold and people are more likely to cancel in favor of their warm beds. Hey, we can't blame them either because each of us has been guilty of this at some point.

That is exactly why I can't wait to be a junior and leave my sophomore slump year behind!

Life as a junior just seems so much better, so much more put together. When a teacher goes around the room with icebreaker exercises, juniors actually smile when they say their year as opposed to sophomores who have that "it's-really-not-that-important-why-do-we-have-to-do-this" smile.

Junior year is the highlight of a four-year college experience. It's the year where you feel like you've got all your crap together and you just know what you're doing. You have goals and you are achieving them. You know what you need to do and you know how to do it well. You're experienced both academically and socially.

At UAlbany, it's also the year where you get to move into the on-campus apartments, giving you access to a much-needed kitchen to make your own food. When attending college it is common to gain weight and eat lots of unhealthy foods. Being an active student in two sports clubs, eating lots of unhealthy food is detrimental to my body and tends to hold me back in terms of participation. Being able to cook my own food will allow me to remain healthy and eat a variety of foods instead of the same hamburgers and fries each week.

Overall, it seems like junior year is the second freshman year. It's a fresh start after a slump. It's when you get your groove back. So after we get back from summer vacation, you better believe I will be breakdancing into my junior year.