The global tag starts below The Classic Brunette: Differences

Monday, December 29, 2014


After finishing my first semester of sophomore year, I have noticed things about college that seem different than last year. Of course as time goes by things will almost certainly change, but I've already begun to see how freshman year is a lot different than the rest of the college years.

The most dramatic change is that I feel more comfortable. This comfort stems from all sorts of areas, not just physical comfort at the school I'm at. I feel a lot more at ease, there is less tension within myself, and I have confidence in the decisions that I make. Chapman is now a very familiar place, and sometimes I even catch myself calling it home. I feel like I'm really part of the community, especially since I joined a sorority. The majority of the school is in greek life, and since I've joined it, I feel like I know more people and see the school in a different way. Not that I'm advocating greek life, but in some cases, like my own, it establishes a connection that I wouldn't otherwise have made.

Another realization that I've had is that I'm an adult. Yes, I know, it sounds ridiculous. When I turned 18 my friends and I all laughed and joked about me being an old lady and actually being seen as an adult. It never quite hit me though until this year. Freshman year I was on a meal plan, was watched over by professors and RA's, and everyone at the school looked to my class as the babies. Now, I do my own grocery shopping, I make my own phone calls, I cook, I clean, it's like I run my own mini household in my apartment! In a month I turn twenty, and I've only just begun to realize that my teenage years are gone, and surprisingly, I'm okay with it.

I've learned that friends may choose different paths than you choose, and sometimes you will travel with them, and others you may not. It's okay to say goodbye to the friends you no longer connect with. In many cases, the transition from high school to college is where you lose friends, and I didn't realize it happens from freshman year to sophomore year too. You start to realize what you want, and surround yourself with people who support that. I'm extremely lucky that I've got friends from high school that I still talk to and freshman year friends that have stuck by my side. Some friendships remain strong, and others dissolve, but it doesn't mean that anyone did anything wrong. It means you decided to live your own lives.

I feel like this semester has taught me so much about myself, even if nothing particularly extraordinary happened. Making my own decisions, and learning to do things on my own has taught me that you have to become your own person. College is a time for transitions and changes, and although it might be scary at first, everything is going to be fine.



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