It has been a little over a month since my Sophomore year of college started and I have already noticed how different this year is.

Freshman Year

For starters, freshman year is centered around finding a ton of friends. Everyone is searching for their perfect group that they click well with and can be themselves. Whether its your roommates, people in various classes, the gym, or people you just met in the cafeteria, nothing is off limits when you're on the hunt for best friends.

Freshman year is what I like to refer to as your "alcoholic year". A lot of people acted like they had never seen alcohol before and took that time to catch up on all of the experiences they missed out on.

How freshman view their night going:

This scenario only has 2 potential outcomes.

Scenerio #1:

If you're lucky, you, your friends, or all of the above will just throw up a couple of times before heading to bed.

Scenario #2:

On Thursday and Friday nights it was not uncommon to hear a multitude of ambulance sirens throughout the night picking up the students who will wake up in the hospital not knowing why they were there in the first place.

Perhaps the highlight of my freshman year was living in "Academic Achievement" and having the highest number or students on academic probation and the highest number of students failing out of Sonoma. Many freshman get so caught up in finding friends and having fun that they have a hard time balancing school as well. I know it was not easy for me my first semester, but it's all about setting a schedule and sticking to it so you can successfully balance studying and having fun.

Sophomore Year

By sophomore year you have established your set group of friends and are probably living with them. It's weird not seeing some of your friends as often as you did last year, but everything takes time to get used to.

It is both a blessing and a curse not having a meal plan at the cafeteria because now you are responsible for making your own food.

If you didn't learn your freshman year, you will definitely understand the value of budgeting your second year. It's all fun and games until you have no more money for groceries.

I spent my freshman year finding friends and having fun with them that I never got involved with school activities. I am definitely going to take the time to sign up for more clubs or get involved with the school in some way.

Now more than ever I appreciate the value of sleep!!! With classes back to back and then work, the last thing I want to do is run around and be crazy. At the end of the day the only thing I want is my bed and Netflix.

My favorite part about sophomore year is how it's not as scary as freshman year. I know what to expect going into my classes and how fast the semester goes by. I also remember the stupid things I did my freshman year and have a better understanding of what I can and cannot handle. Everything in life is a learning curve so I wouldn't say freshman year is better than sophomore year or vice versa. They are each different in their own ways and I don't doubt that I will learn something new about myself this year just like I did last year.