As my freshman year of college came to a close, I was more than ready to be home for the summer. They aren’t kidding when they tell you your first year will fly by. I was exhausted by the end of it all. While I had an unforgettable year, I counted down the days until my mom’s cooking, my dogs sleeping in my bed, and the reunite with high school friends. Well, just like everything else in life, summer came and summer went. And now that I’m back at school, I’m realizing that this “sophomore slump” is a real thing.

I had never even heard of the sophomore slump until my friends and I started feeling some type of way. In case anyone doesn’t know, the sophomore slump, in its simplest form, is the feeling of confusion and struggle during this specific time of our lives: our second year of college. Now, I can’t speak on behalf of everyone my age. However, I can speak on behalf of what I have personally felt so far.

I look around at the freshmen on campus and can’t help but feel at least a tiny bit of sadness for them. Everything is so new to them. Everything is so exciting to them. Everything is so intriguing to them. But they have no idea of the realities of college that will soon unfold before their eyes. And honestly, they can’t help it. I remember exactly how I felt. I was at such a high the first couple months of school, and there was no coming down. I found excitement in just going to the grocery store to restock on toothpaste and Lunchables. I had no idea how to do my own laundry, but I felt so much satisfaction and happiness when at least attempting it. I was honestly even a little eager to go to class just to see if there’d be an attractive male within sight - disclaimer - there never was. On the surface, it was easily the best year of my life.

But let’s face it. It wasn’t as glamorous as any of our Facebook or Snapchat stories may have made it out to be. There were times when I felt lonely, upset, confused, and lost. As I'm beginning my sophomore year, I'm reminded of those feelings.

I’m on my third major. I’m living in a house off campus. I don’t have the desire to go out as much as I did last year. Not to mention I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Everything is just...well...different.Freshman year I vividly remember being so hopeful and excited for my future. And now, there is so much pressure on us to have it all figured out – so much pressure that we might start to crumble. We often had an easy way out last year, like “oh you’re a freshman, it’s okay if you screw up or have no direction yet.” But just because we’re now three months older, does not mean that we should have it all figured out. And while we should probably act more mature on the weekends, that doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to make mistakes.

All of us sophomores, without admitting it, feel this way at least a tiny bit. I mean, be honest with yourselves. It feels weird not being the youngest ones on campus anymore. Freshmen look forward to everything, juniors are busy planning internships and what not, and seniors get butterflies (the good and bad kind) when thinking about life after graduation. So what on earth are we supposed to look forward to?

I’m starting to realize that my whole life I have been looking forward to those long-term things. I wasted so much time in high school counting down the days for college - so much time that I forgot to make those days count. And now that I’m in college, I need to slow down. I think all of us need to learn to find enjoyment in the present. And that, I know, is the most cliché thing in the world. But if anything, just look forward to tomorrow. And then take it day by day. I know the ropes pretty well by now and I’m not making plans to land a huge internship anytime soon, so why not just relax and make the most of this time? After all, we only have three more years till we’re completely released into the real world. And the reality is: we only have three more years until we're even more on our own than we already are. Three more years of football games, date parties, nights out with friends, sleeping in, summers – I could go on and on.

So you’ve entered your sophomore year. It may not seem exciting at first, but should you let that affect your whole year? I've come to realize there is no cure for the sophomore slump because it can be whatever you make it. We may be "stuck in the slump" all year, but we can keep enjoying each day as it comes. College will go by even faster than high school did. And once that ends, then we can really start worrying.