As I type this, I am officially halfway through the first semester of sophomore year. Like most years, there seems to be a mix of successes along with things I need to improve upon. In this post. I will elaborate on the previous statement by giving personal examples, and try to provide some insight to readers in the process.
Effective time management skills have really helped me to balance obligations with free time. I vividly remember the days of high school when I would start a paper or begin studying for an exam at 9 PM the night before. The end result was never particularly pleasant; I felt very stressed trying to complete the work, and sleep deprivation turned me into a walking zombie the next day. Plus, I never did as well on the assignment compared to when I chose not to procrastinate. However, now I make sure to review notes for upcoming tests, even if the exam is more than a week away. With the way college courses are set up, I strongly believe that it is more practical to devote the majority of your study time preparing for tests. Last year, I was overwhelmed by the amount of reading assigned for a Political Science course, but in the end, it was really not worth it to read these twenty page scholarly articles in their entirety. Now, I am certainly not advocating you to not do your homework! However, when tests and quizzes make up the majority of your grade in semester-long college courses, it is a much better option to summarize the main concepts in long reading assignments and to go over these notes each day. This approach has really worked for me, and by splitting my work up and taking short breaks, it doesn’t feel too excruciating. I am happy to say that at this point, I’m doing well in classes while still being able to devote time to campus organizations and working out. What’s more, I have been getting an adequate amount of sleep.
With every positive comes a negative. One thing I still need to work on during sophomore year is improving social skills. When I came to TCNJ as a freshman, I was more reserved, and didn’t hit it off socially at Welcome Week like many others did. I still greet my floor mates from freshman year if our paths cross, and I have met some great people through classes and clubs. However, there are many instances in which I see a group of friends hanging out, and realize that this aspect of my college experience is lacking. I’m still on the quiet side, but I have grown as a person and certainly feel more confident in myself compared to a year ago. I’m sure this is a problem that many TCNJ students experience, even the upperclassmen that have spent two or three years here. In order to take that ‘next step’ and develop more friendships, I’m going to try and reach out and spark conversations with others, even if I don’t know much about the other person. Saying simple things like “ugh, that test was killer!” or “how about that last second touchdown pass for the win?” can be the starting point in a lifelong friendship. So we’ll see. I will be sure to update my readers with how this situation is going as the year progresses.
The Sophomore Year Experience at TCNJ 