By Giselle Lee | Staff Writer
On a humid Wednesday evening, I trekked to the common room at my residence hall with my back aching from the weight I was carrying, literally (as in my school bag) and figuratively.
It was my third week of being a sophomore, but I was already experiencing a phenomenon where every day slowly plateaued into utter exhaustion.
Between darting back and forth across campus searching for my next story, fighting the deadlines on my assignments and going on random side quests, I was more overwhelmed in three weeks than my entire freshman year.
As I greeted one of my Community Leaders at the front desk, I let out an exasperated sigh and said, “I need to find a way to beat the sophomore slump.”
His response is etched into my memory.
“The sophomore slump doesn’t exist.”
I may love being busy and complaining about being tired, but I knew deep down that there was scientific evidence to suggest that the sophomore slump exists. It had to, because I was feeling it firsthand.
Whatever it was, I knew every problem required a solution, so out of the care I have for my peers and the teeny ounce of spite I feel to prove my friend wrong, here are a few ways you can join me in conquering the sophomore slump.
1. “Satisficing” your commitments
No, that’s not a spelling error. “Satisficing” is a compound word I learnt through a one-on-one meeting with my graduate resident hall director, combining “satisfying” and “sacrificing”. “Satisficing” means to establish the base requirements of every aspect of your university life, whether it’s a sport, a club, or even work and school.
Every week, you’ll be able to distribute most of your attention to whatever is the top priority, whilst still satisfying the minimum of what is expected of you from all the other commitments you have.
To quote what he said, “If you are trying to commit 100% to everything, you’re not committing to anything.” At least this way, you can balance out your priorities on a weekly basis.
2. Schedule pockets of rest
Unless you have no Friday classes like me, having dedicated times of rest every week is extremely beneficial to reflect and reset. Research shows that you might be more productive and less stressed if rest time is built into your day-to-day schedule.
Of course, don’t spend all of it doomscrolling on your phone. Instead, you could go outside to enjoy some sun, touch some grass, try out a new coffee shop or do some people watching.
3. Exercise your mind and body
As a former competitive swimmer, exercising my mind was just as important as doing physical exercise; creativity is essential to our humanity. I could go on and on about how going to the gym or taking up a sport in college is great not only for staying fit and for improving your mental health, but we don’t often talk about how great it is to have a creative outlet.
The science doesn’t lie: your brain releases dopamine when engaged in creative processes, which can reduce anxiety and encourage mindfulness. My personal favorites include taking pictures and scrapbooking; once I hit flow state, I’ve already forgotten what I was so uptight about. Try a painting class, dance around your room to your favorite song, do whatever gets your creative juices flowing. Trust me, it’s fun!
4. Talk it out
Feeling overwhelmed is inevitable at times. You will struggle to cope with assignments, your extracurriculars and life in general. Having someone to lean on is extremely crucial, especially during college.
One of my close friends once said, “Shared joy is double the joy, and shared burden is half the burden.”
You are never alone in your hardships. There are people in your dorm, around our campus and back at home who hope to go through thick and thin with you. It can be a bit uncomfortable at first, so start with something small, but I guarantee you will come out of tough conversations feeling relieved.
5. Eat, laugh and pray often
Your brain needs fuel. Your brain needs the occasional rot. Most importantly, your brain needs to find peace. Some of the funniest memories I have in college so far actually came from sitting with my friends in dining halls and spewing absolute nonsense to each other. Food has a strange ability to bring people together.
Whilst on the topic of strange abilities, college is a place that might test your limits. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.
If God, the creator of you and me, is by our side every single day, I don’t think you need to be so paranoid about that one overdue Canvas assignment. Still, make sure you submit it, but pray for His guidance as you’re completing it.
6. Take all things one day at a time
While this may be a sophomore-targeted list, this applies to all students regardless of their year: you can plan, make backup plans and have backup plans to your backup plans, but at the end of the day, you can only be so prepared for what life has in store for you.
The best days and worst days you have are all temporary, so don’t worry much about what went wrong and appreciate the good things while they’re happening; a lot can happen over 24 hours.
Hopefully, with enough food in your stomach, friends in your company and a willingness to persevere, you too will survive the sophomore slump. All the best to my fellow sophomores, and always remember you are known and loved.
