It is so hard to believe that I am already halfway done with college! Where has the time gone?!
This past week I started my Junior Year, and so far I am loving every minute of it. I love being back on campus and seeing my professors and my friends! Also, this year I finally started taking the classes for my major so things have been very exciting! Although, I am now a junior, today I will be sharing 13 Things that I learned my sophomore year.
1. 18 Credit Hours is doable.
I signed up to take 18 credit hours both Fall and Spring semester and I can say that at times while it was extremely rough, I found it to be doable as long as I managed my time wisely!
TIME MANAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL!
Out of the two semesters, my Spring semester was the most difficult! If you are having a difficult time deciding on how many credit hours you should sign up for, definitely take into account your extra curricular activities and/or your job (if you have one). If they require a lot of time, sign up for what you know you can handle. After all, on the first day of class if you realize that have too much on your plate, you can always drop the class within the first couple of days without it showing up on your transcript!
2. Be careful of who you choose to call your “friend”.
I recently had to distance myself from someone who I became extremely close friends with throughout the course of my college career. From this situation, I learned two things: 1) Betrayal sucks and 2) While you think they may be your friend and have your best intentions in mind, they may have the exact opposite.
3. It is important to live a balanced life between school, work, friends, and family.
Finding a balance between school, work, and my social life is something that I definitely struggled with during my fall semester. While school was non-negotiable, I still wanted to keep my job but also missed spending time with my friends and family. I’ll admit that there were several times where I was invited to go out with friends but had to work and would never be able to go and it left me feeling extremely bummed. While I understand that not everyone may be able to do so, I quickly realized that while money is important, I have the rest of my life to work. As a result, I had a conversation with my boss who is so understanding and am so fortunate for, and we were able to scale back on my hours.
4. Being single is ok!
I have never really been one to attract much attention from guys. However, this semester was a little different in the aspect of guys started realizing my existence. I believe there is a saying something like “#glowuponfleek” LOL. So far it has been an interesting learning experience, to say the least. As I have said before, I have never been the type of girl to go looking for a relationship or chase boys. As cliche as it sounds, I believe in fate in the sense of if it is meant to happen it will happen!
Being 100% honest, when it comes to guys, something that I struggle with is being accepted. I am not ashamed to say that I am THAT girl who hasn’t been around the block and has very little dating experience, which (disappointingly) can be a deterrence for some. If this is something that you can relate to, something that I learned is that it only scares the WRONG guys away. Do not blame yourself as the one’s who are meant for you will accept you, not pressure you, and be respectful!
5. Don’t be afraid to try something new!
While I try my hardest to be adventurous, at times it is a struggle because I have a difficult time letting loose. This semester I tried to be more adventurous and ended up finding new activities that I enjoyed!
The first activity that I tried that I ended up enjoying was walks on the nature trail! I am not a huge outdoors person but I went with some friends and I really enjoyed it!The other activity that I learned that I liked is the opera! I was looking for things to do on a Friday night on campus and decided to attend a Opera performance that was being put on by some students. While one my main motives to attend was to get a musical show attendance credit for my music class, I actually ended up enjoying myself!
6. Start doing things that prep you for your future career.
I cannot stress the importance of this! I highly suggest joining various clubs and organizations at your school that pertain to your area of study! Not only will it give you something to add to your resume, you will also probably learn a lot of information that can be beneficial to you in the real world.
For example, because I am a Marketing Major I am a member of the American Marketing Association. In addition, with my career field in mind I would eventually like to work in digital marketing or advertising. In addition, another way that I am currently dabbling in my career field is that I am currently the Advertising Manager for my school newspaper! At the end of the day, college is what you make of it!
7. Be sure to back up your electronic work!
The worst thing that could ever possibly happen to a college student happened to me during the worst weeks of them all……. FINAL’S WEEK! I lost my flash drive and I thought that my life was over! I always do a great job of keeping an extra copy of my work on my computer, but when it came time to submitting my two 6 page final papers I WAS DOOMED! Moral of the story, always back up your work so that you do not have to rewrite multiple six page papers!
8. Studying is important!
To get the most of your education, making the most out of each study session is super important! Aside from developing a consistant study schedule, you should also develop good study habits. Pay attention to what you know you can and can not do. Me personally, I am able to study with music! On the other hand, I know some people who can only study with classical music, and I also know some who can not study with music at all.
Also, WHERE you study is just as important. I need a quiet place to study, therefore this year the designated quiet floors of the library became my best friend! Lastly, HOW you study is important! I am a visual learner who needs repetition in order to comprehend the material. Because of this, I like to use Quizlet! I have been using Quizlet since freshman year or high school and I love that you can turn your written notes into online flashcards, create your own tests with your notes, and use it in “learn” mode which helps you learn the definition.
9. Living at home is not ideal, but you can make the most of it!
If you have been around with me on my blog journey, last year you may remember my 22 Things I Learned my Freshman Year of College post where I shared that my roommate situation was not ideal, which resulted in me moving back home and commuting to school.
If you are a college commuter student like me who has strict parents the most important thing that you can do is to have a conversation with your parents about your role in the house and what their expectations are. Aside from coming home at a respectful hour; in my house, the only things that my parents require of me is to clean up after myself.
10. Those who were your friends in high school may no longer be your close friends.
I have absolutely no hard feelings against my friends from high school! Life gets the best of us and we grow a part as we are on different journeys. I am so excited to see that everyone is doing great things! While it can be difficult to accept that we are not as close as we used to be, I am always that friend that is one phone call away!
11. You never know how long you will have with someone, so cherish each moment!
I had my first experience with grieving a loss this past semester, as a friend of mine from high school passed away. Although I had not gotten a chance to speak to her since she graduated (She was a year ahead of me) it was really unexpected and extremely sad as we had such great memories being in yearbook together where we would play chess all day. I highly encourage any one who is having suicidal thoughts to talk to someone or call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or reach out to someone who you trust and can confide it.
12. Good things will come to those who wait!
Originally when I applied to work for my school newspaper, I applied to the position of Assistant Photo Editor. I had been consistent in writing articles as a writer but I missed the editorial life and wanted something a little bit more! After going through the application and interview process, I ended up not getting the job. However, about a month and a half later I got a call from our then Editor In Chief letting me know that the position of Advertising Manager would be open for next semester and that she recommend I apply for it. Flash forward to November! I ended up going through another round of the dreaded interviews, and I got a phone call the next day stating that I got the job! While I was disappointed the first time around, I took it as a sign that something better would be out there for me in the future!
