What No One Tells You About Junior Year

As I am almost halfway through my Junior year of school, I have come to accept that I was ill-prepared for this pivotal period in my academic career. Listed below are a few of the moments which led to both my disillusionment and my excitement about growing up. Here are a few of this things no one tells you about junior year!

1. This is so exciting!

I am finally taking classes in my major, progressing toward graduation, and becoming an educated individual! That is, if I pass my classes. Wish someone had warned me that I’d be running on four hours of sleep a night and copious amounts of caffeine while I BS my way to a B.S. degree.

“Wait, I don’t understand what we’re going over and it’s only day two?” “Do I even like polysci?” “Who majors in Psychology?! I am going to be unemployable and live in my parents’ basement forever!”

2. I knew I would need to start looking for internships/entry-level positions to pad my resumé, however, the difficulty of actually doing so was conveniently left unsaid.

I can’t work without experience, and I can’t get experience without working so basically I’ll just start filling out those Burger King applications now.

3. I used to think that living off campus meant I had made it…

…but now I realize the error of my ways. Sure, it’s great to have freedom and feel like an adult. But with rent and lease agreements, grocery shopping, the hike to class, and a shitty landlord in lieu of 24/7 maintenance, living off-campus sometimes adds to my stress level even more than my school work.

For the love of all that is holy, stay on campus as long as possible to make use of your school’s free, unlimited wifi!

4. I thought it would be exciting to be an upperclassman, and it is.

However, seeing all the uncaged youths running amok on campus is not as amusing as it sounds. The idiotic freshmen who drink Four Loko reminding you of days you’d sooner forget (or maybe can’t remember) and the guys that hit on you whenever/wherever they please will grow old real quick, trust me.

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Maybe it doesn’t seem like it now, but there will come a moment of bright, shining realization when you come to understand the gravity of the difference between ad 21 year old and a 17-18 year old (aside from the whole legal age thing).

5. On the bright side, by Junior year you’ve pretty much sorted out your friend group so you don’t have to deal with petty drama and can focus on the good times.

This is me trying in vain to prepare you for the crazy amount of fun you’re going to have this year—which you deserve after working so hard—from studying abroad to turning 21 there’s so much to look forward to!

6. No one told me just how hard Junior year would be…

then again no one could have accurately described to me how amazing it would be either! This first semester has flown by for me and I intend to make the most of what I have left of this incredibly stressful yet exhilarating time because once it’s gone I can’t go back.