9 Things You Learn During Your Sophomore Year of College

1. You will always have a relationship with your freshman roommate.

This one is controversial because some may have had poor or even horrific freshman roommates. Whenever I saw my roommate from last year, she ran up and hugged me. Nothing will break the bond of living with someone for the first time and sharing a room (and countless experiences) with a complete stranger. Even if you don’t have a magnetic connection, you will always have an inexplicable tie to this person.

2. You’ll figure out who you’ll be friends with for the rest of your life.

This is such a cliché, but it’s true. Everyone says you’ll go to college and find the friends with you’ll have forever. But during sophomore year, you determine who is worth keeping around. No, you probably won’t be best friends with everyone you randomly Facebook friended the first week of school, but you’ll be much happier when you realize that the friends you do have will be there for you.

3. There really is no reason to stay out until four in the morning.

Freshman year, I thought I’d be missing something terribly important and fun if I didn’t stay out until the wee hours of the morning. Sophomore year I realized the only important and fun thing I was missing out on was my sleep.

4. You don’t need to sleep with guys to get them to like you.

Freshman year if you wanted to get a guy to like you, there was an easy solution. Sophomore year, you get to develop relationships while keeping your clothes on. And guess what? They might even like you for your personality.

5. The freshman 15 is real, but the sophomore 10 is realer.

Everyone complains about the weight you put on your first year at college. Well, it definitely doesn’t stop just because your first year is over. If you don’t do anything about it, the weight will keep piling on. You learn that the gym can be your friend.

6. You sort of figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Freshman year, you want to explore acting and chemistry in the same semester, go for it. Sophomore year, there’s more pressure to declare a major. While this decision can be stressful, it’s pretty exciting to research different career paths and start to take classes that you’ll need for your life after college.

7. You no longer have to do any of the b***h work for your extracurricular activities.

Freshman year, I would have done anything for my sports editor, who I reported to while writing for the school newspaper. 3 articles a week? No problem. Sophomore year, I was able to expand my role and figure out what I wanted to do.

8. Your grades are important.

While going out for penny pitchers on Wednesday night instead of studying for an exam may seem like a blast freshman year, sophomore year, it’s not as great of an idea. If you choose to continue your education, grades play a crucial role.

9. You’re no longer a freshman!

You know exactly where you’re going. You start to realize who you want to be, who you want to surround yourself with, and how you want to sculpt your college experience.