The Sophomore Slump or the Comeback of the Year

Welcome, welcome, one and all, to your second year of college! Time to pick your major! You’re not a freshman anymore, so no more babying! You’ve done this before, you’re ready for the real world, but beware of the sophomore slump!

Nothing is more terrifying to me than the steady march of time, especially when I’m surrounded by a bunch of 1-year-old adults (me included), who are expected to choose a path for their lives and learn what it means to exist for themselves. It feels quite dystopian if you ask me.  With a year of everything new under your belt, in your sophomore year you really start to feel comfortable in this phase of your life. But then you realize you’re already halfway through, which leads to a lot of existential questions and life choices. As Fall Out Boy says in their song, Sophomore Slump or the Comeback of the Year, “Are we going up, or just going down?” 

I asked a few of my friends their thoughts on the transition between being a freshman and a sophomore. 

Michelle Teske, one of my apartment mates, expressed it perfectly. “First years have a lot of resources to help [them] transition (into college), but once you hit your second year, you don’t have the same resources or help. They tell you to prepare for sophomore year during the summer, but you don’t know what you’re preparing for.”

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a refreshing feeling to live in an apartment and out of dorm life, with my own kitchen, laundry, and bathroom, but it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed, and no one walks you through the growth of responsibility you encounter once leaving your freshman year of college. 

Zay Sassine described it like this. “The transition between freshman to sophomore year feels like replaying a level of a video game you have already played, but on a higher difficulty, while it’s mirrored.” 

But there are positives, too. Dakota Lewis talks about the transition from dorm-style living to life in the Oak Apartments, saying, “Not being near the Chat and the dining hall is annoying, but hello kitchen! I also love not having to climb stairs for laundry. That’s so fun.” Ven Mubarek is glad to be back. “I’m really excited to be hanging out with people who I met last year and getting closer with them!”.

Freshman year and senior year are often discussed at length, but sophomore and junior year are often forgotten or brushed aside. 

That said, don’t let the tales of the sophomore slump take you off your game. You can ward it off if you take time to recognize and validate the struggles that may come along with it, and work your way through it with your peers. 

So tell me sophomores, will it be the sophomore slump, or the comeback of the year?