Saturday

And I’m not even a sophomore anymore.  But oh, how I remember those days.  D. is currently dealing with his sophomore slump .. he is not looking forward to second semester at all.  His struggles prompted me to think back over my last year, particularly how much better my junior year has been than last year.

Last year, I spent a lot of first semester being unhappy and depressed with school and my life overall, thinking about how I should have transferred after freshman year, seriously considering transferring then, and testing my alcohol limits on the weekends.  I was also adjusting to the whole long-distance relationship thing.  I dealt with my dissatisfaction with my school experience by going abroad-ish for 2nd semester.  I just felt so confined and stagnated by school.  So I decided to make a change.  My program was definitely an adventure, but overall, 2nd semester wasn’t a great experience.  I was and am glad I did the program, and if I had to do last year over again, I would probably still do it.  (But I would definitely make some changes while there.  Like a different living situation.  Hindsight’s 20/20, eh?)

Once I came back from the program, I made the decision not to transfer.  I was a junior, I would lose a lot of time/credits, I would have to adjust to an entirely new campus, and I didn’t want to go much farther away from home and my boyfriend than I already am, which limited my options.  I just didn’t want to be a freshmen all over again as a 20-year old junior.  Actively deciding that transferring wasn’t right really empowered me to make changes on-campus.  I resolved to really get involved last semester, and overall, I think I succeeded.  I got involved in the newspaper, two dance organizations, and several miscellaneous organizations, including student government.  Because of my involvement last semester, I am set up to occupy four leadership positions next semester.  Not only does involvement with groups look good on the resume, it also keeps me sane.  I do things I enjoy and meet new people while participating in them.  I did all this while maintaining a solid GPA.  My grades, school involvement, and my several internships will hopefully set me up for a good internship this summer and a solid job in the future.

Even though I can always improve, my sophomore to junior year transition was definitely a positive one.  And to be honest, I’m really glad I’m heading back to campus instead of packing to spend 4 months in another country.  I’m sure everyone who’s going abroad will have good experiences.  But in the meantime, I’ve made my place on-campus .. and I’m not about to give that up.

Em