Let’s See How Far We’ve Come

It’s that busy time in spring again when I’m trying to balance the work of this semester while making plans for the summer and next year. Even with more than a month left, I’ve started to reflect on sophomore year, and it’s crazy to think how much has changed.

This time last year I was feeling both excited to have survived almost a full year of college and frightened of the fate housing lottery might hand me. I thought of sophomore year as the slump time, without the excitement of freshmen life or the focus of upperclassmen experience. This year has been different but certainly not a slump. I returned a little nervous about being split from my freshmen hall but excited to be living with some of my friends in Jamestown. Now I just signed my housing contract for Community Scholars House, and next year I’ll be the only junior living with nine sophomores who spent their freshmen year together. I entered the fall semester with the same strategy of taking classes that “looked cool” and whose professors got good reviews at ratemyprofessors.com. Somehow through wait-lists and summer switches I ended up in a few Women’s Studies courses, and now I’m happily declaring a Women’s Studies major. I’m still looking at classes based on coolness and reviews, but I finally have a sense of an academic home-base on campus. I started my time as a Sharpe Fellow uncertain of what the job would require, and being a Fellow has been my most challenging role, but I’ll come away with incredible experiences and skills. I’ve expanded my list of activities to include Tour Guide, Development Ambassador, and Conversation Partner. How did all of this happen?

Trying to imagine what my reflection will look like spring of my junior year, I’m sure the changes will be even greater, but it’s nice for now to see the growth I’ve experienced as a sophomore. Beyond the measurable expansion of my activities, I’ve settled into a good group of friends, a field of study that keeps me engaged, and general life in Williamsburg. Even with all my settling though, sophomore year has been about reaching for what I want out of my college experience by working hard, filling out tons of applications, and always being willing to engage with those around me. This has definitely been the year of clearing my own path, and if this is what a slump at William and Mary looks like, who knows where next year will take me.