The commonly held belief seems to be that freshman year is the hardest one. It's your first time away from home for long periods of time, you're learning self-control and time management, and you actually have to do your own laundry or you won't have clothes. After you conquer that first year, or first semester even, everything gets better because you're no longer the bottom of the totem pole or the new kid in town. But, I disagree. For me, fresman year was a time of discovery and learning, as cliche as that sounds. In all honesty, I was so caught up in the whole idea of being on my own at college that the time flew by and before I knew it, I was back home for the summer having defeated that fear-inducing first year.
Sophomore year, I thought I knew what I was doing, having survived the previous year and all. But, I got back to campus only to discover that the shiny, new object that was college was no longer that shiny and new. Freshman year was a whirlwind of naivity and enchantment with my newfound indepedence, but sophomore year was reality for me. I realized that what I thought I wanted to do with my life was not exactly what I actually wanted to do with my life. That's a scary realization when you've already set the plans and put them in motion for that very goal that you no longer care to achieve. I also learned that if you want something, if you really, really are passionate about something, you have to fight for it. You have to make the phone calls and send the emails, set up the meetings, and bother a lot of people until it gets done. No one is going to advocate for exactly what you need or want except for you.
I learned that I should never feel guilty for doing exactly what makes me happy, even if it's not the popular choice. It's perfectly acceptable to be 'that girl' who is a little bit weird in her habits. I learned that I very much prefer spending a Friday or Saturday night making dinner, baking, watching Grey's Anatomy, and going to bed embarassingly early over going out. I finally got it in my head that this was not something I should feel guilty for. College is a time for independence, growth, and discovery. That means something different for every person, but for me that means learning that my weird preferences are part of me and nothing to be apologizing for.
I learned that there will be people who hinder you and people who inspire you. Let go of the one's who do not make you better, inspire you, push you, and support you. Thank the people who inspire you, whether it was your high school history teacher or your roommate or your Biology professor.
I learned all of these lessons and more over the first year and a half of college. I have five more semesters left to continue learning as I go, and I can't wait to find the new ways I can grow with all of those new lessons.
