Category: College

30 Things You Should Do Before You Graduate College

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I’m now just a short few weeks away from entering my senior year of college. So as you can guess I’m feeling a mixture of excitement/sadness/fear/exhaustion/celebration/anxiety/everything all at once. But in order to prepare myself for this year, and looking back on all the ~wisdom~ I’ve gained now that I am the top of the food chain (lol, more like I’m washed up), I decided to make this list for all of you so that we can all be prepared to experience everything possible in this last short year of school.

  1. Eat at restaurants in your town that you never have before.
  2. Attend a workout class.
  3. Join a random club.
  4. Study somewhere you usually don’t.
  5. Skip an entire day of classes just because.
  6. Go to a sporting event you’ve never gone to.
  7. Have lunch with your favorite professor.
  8. Institute Wine Wednesdays.
  9. Eat that thing in the dining hall that you never eat.
  10. Look through the books in the library for fun and not because you have to.
  11. Got to your campus’s art museum.
  12. Live in a single room.
  13. Go streaking.
  14. Vlog a regular day in your life.
  15. Go to your professor’s office hours.
  16. Take a class outside of your major.
  17. Kiss someone you’ve always wanted to kiss.
  18. Go out on a night when you’d rather stay in.
  19. Pull an all-nighter sans studying.
  20. Talk to someone that you never have.
  21. Go on a week long bender.
  22. Do that thing on your campus that you know you’re not supposed to do. (Every school has one).
  23. Walk around the town on a nice day.
  24. Tell that person you hate that you hate them.
  25. Buy yourself a giant sweatshirt or tshirt so that it’ll still fit when you’re old and fat.
  26. Sit in the dining hall for an entire day.
  27. Order takeout from all your favorite restaurants on the same night.
  28. Do something only townies do.
  29. Do a bar crawl with your best friends.
  30. Burn all of your books, homework, exams, etc.

Might as well get started now.

From me for you,

Julie

I’m Not Ready for the Real World.

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Maybe that’s not true. Maybe I am ready. But it sure as hell doesn’t feel like I am.

I turned 21 less than a month ago, which means I can now officially say I’m “in my twenties”. Sounds impressive doesn’t it? I’m such an ~adult~, I have so much ~potential~. YEAH, NO.

I mean yes I do have potential, and yes I am more of an adult than an eighteen year old is, but in reality being “in my twenties” doesn’t really feel like I expected it to when I was eighteen. I thought by now, as I enter my senior year of college (holy sh*t), that I would know who I was and what I wanted to do. Boy was I wrong.

Getting closer and closer to the big, bad “real world” has just made me more and more insecure about what it is I want to do with my life.

And yeah I know, all the “real adults” out there will tell me that it’s okay that I don’t know and that I have so much time to be whatever it is I want to be; but when you’re standing at the edge of a cliff, looking over, and hoping that the parachute you put on was the right one, you don’t really feel like you have the opportunity or time to get it wrong.

That’s how life feels at the moment, like a five hundred foot cliff that I have no choice but to jump over.

This summer I’m working my first ~real job~. Sure I’ve done unpaid internships and camp counselor jobs and other temporary things, but this summer is the first time I’ve stepped into the true corporate setting (yaknow like the one where you have to wear business casual clothing everyday and aren’t allowed to check Facebook when you’re bored….exactly). So as I face this corporate, billion dollar, forty-hour-a-week life, I’m forced to look at what I’m doing and what I want to do and decide if those things match. But honestly I’m not so sure that they do.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying my internship. It’s an amazing opportunity with a great company and I’ve already learned so many valuable things, but at the same time I can’t sit here and say that this is what I want to do for the next forty years of my life. And that’s okay, I know that. I know that I don’t have to work this job forever, but in today’s world there’s this intense pressure for people my age to know how their life is going to play out and to put those plans into action by taking the exact right steps, all the while hoping you make it out safely (and with a ton of money) on the other side.

But as I’ve worked this summer, and met awesome people and learned all these new things, I think I’ve begun to realize that all this pressure I put on myself for the ~real world~ is fueled by the myth of what success actually is.

My success for the next forty years of my life shouldn’t be determined by the decision I make as a 21 year old, and I sure as hell shouldn’t be afraid that it will be. But let’s be honest, knowing this still doesn’t make it any easier to not freak out as I get closer to my cap and gown. And this feeling is only exasperated when I look around and compare myself to all the other young adults around me. Sometimes it feels like everyone else knows exactly where they’re going while I’m just wandering around the intersection trying to read the signs.

But in reality, I think I’m a lot more normal than I sometimes fool myself into believing. The future is scary for everyone, not just me, and I’ll never truly feel ready for that big jump off that cliff. So maybe it’s better to just let myself fall and see where I land. Because taking the risk of failing in order to find a career doing something I love seems a lot more appealing that being stuck doing something for the next forty years that I never wanted to do in the first place.

So no, I’m not ready for the real world, but honestly….who is.

From me for you,

Julie

Going Back to School Freaks Me the Hell Out

Julie Miranto1 Comment

Less than a week til I head back to Gettysburg for the second half of my junior year (that feels incredibly weird and scary to say). You’d think that by now I’d have a handle on the whole school thing, and obviously I do, but this time feels so different. Having spent an entire semester in another country, away from my campus and the routine and relationships that I’ve made there, makes going back to school feel like the weirdest thing ever.

The best way I can describe it is as if you graduated high school and spent a semester away at college and then returned back to high school the next semester (though this is a much more drastic change I’m sure). But can you imagine how that would feel? I created a whole, new “normal” while I was in Spain, and as much as I yearned to go back to the comfort of my school the entire time I was gone, I still had a separation from it for long enough to make it feel somewhat foreign to me. So now the idea of going back to that other life feels intensely weird to me, and to be honest scares the crap out of me.

Don’t get me wrong I beyond excited to go back, but at the same time I have this strange level of anxiety about returning. Will my classes seem harder? Will the atmosphere seem different? Will my friends be the same? Will I enjoy it the same way I used to? Will buff chicken Tuesday still be as delicious?!?! These are the questions that are floating around in my head.

I guess all I can say is I feel weird, excited but weird. Not to mention that I also am very behind on packing and kind of think I’ve now completely forgotten how to live in a dorm, so that’s just one more thing to add to the to do list.

All in all I know I’ll probably love being back and can’t wait to thrive again in my tiny little Gettysburg pond.

Hope everyone is prepared for my return, it should be an eventful one….. *insert tongue emoji here*

From me for you,

Julie

 

An Inside Look at Sorority Recruitment

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I am a member of a sorority so it’s obvious to assume that I’ve been through the formal recruitment process as a PNM. Since becoming a member of an organization I’ve realized that I now know a lot more about the process than I ever did as a PNM. So that’s why I’m here today, to give you all an inside look into recruitment from a sorority member.

The cliches that people say about formal recruitment are endless. People always say to be yourself, don’t try too hard, you’ll end up where you’re supposed to be, and as cheesy as it sometimes sounds all of that advice is true. But at the same time I’ve realized since being on the other side of recruitment that there’s a lot of factors that you really don’t think about or realize as a PNM.

First things first, we’re all just as nervous as you are. A sorority woman told me this once when I was rushing and I didn’t believe her at all, but now being on the other side of it I fully understand. As much as each organization looks at every girl, each member still has her favorites. We’ve formed bonds with you, we’ve learned to like you, and we appreciate what you could bring to our organization, so the fear of you not wanting to be a new member of our organization, or another sorority wanting you equally as much is absolutely terrifying (honestly for me it’s almost as terrifying as going through formal recruitment as a PNM was).

We’re picking the girls who are going to represent our organization on campus for the next year, and who will then go on to select our future members. That’s a big burden for us to carry. Some organizations are working on maintaining their reputation (whatever that may be), some are working on improving their reputation, and some are working on establishing a reputation (being a member of the newest sorority on campus puts me and my sisters in this section). The members we choose this Fall will define how the entire campus and Greek community views us for a long time. Talk about a lot of pressure.

So now you can understand why we spend hours planning and setting up events for you, why we try to put our best foot forward when talking to you, why we have endless recruitment workshops, and why we talk about each one of you in depth before selecting who we would like to join our organization. We’re worried about impressing you just as much as you’re worried about impressing us, even if you don’t believe that’s true.

Not only are we fighting for your attention but we’re also fighting the other sororities around us. “Fighting” might not be the best term, we’re all one big Panhellenic community and truly we want you to join Greek life no matter what organization you end up in. But at the same time I fully believe that losing your favorite girl to another organization is almost equally as upsetting as being dropped by your favorite sorority during recruitment.

At the same time we all feel this huge responsibility to make your sorority dreams come true. Okay so maybe it’s just me, but being a PNM who almost got into the sorority she imagined only to have that ripped away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with. And maybe that sounds silly and dramatic but it’s true. You spend all this time focusing on one thing and creating it into being everything you want only to have it all fall apart in the last second. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, which is why I feel this need to not let it happen to other people. I honestly wish that we could extend bids to everyone because I don’t want my organization to be the reason that you don’t get to join a sorority, because joining a sisterhood truly is an awesome thing.

However at the same time we can only show so much interest in you for fear of bid promising. That’s a HUGE no-no when it comes to formal recruitment and it’s something I definitely don’t endorse. We have to make you want us, we have to make you feel confident in us, but we can’t promise you anything. That really puts us in a hard spot because we can like you and want you but we can’t guarantee anything. It’s this difficult seesaw game for all sorority members.

That brings me to another point: cutting your list of girls to fit the amount of bids you’re allowed to give is seriously painful. Okay, so technically I haven’t been through the whole process of actually selecting girls yet, but I have spent the past few months talking to my sisters about PNMs, making lists for myself to organize my thoughts (….I find lists to be the most therapeutic thing ever) and freaking out. So I have dealt with the issue of knowing generally how many spots we’re going to have and knowing that all the girls that I like won’t be able to fit just because we only have so many spots. It’s frustrating to let go of girls who you think would fit in your organization just because someone else might fit a little bit better or might have more people rooting for her. It’s definitely not something that I, or any member of my sorority, takes lightly.

Another point I’d like to make is that every sorority chooses it’s new members differently. So I can’t honestly tell you what you’re up against. But I do know how my organization selects girls and all I can say is that it’s all about being a good fit all around. There’s a lot of different things we look at but at the end of the day my best advice for any PNM reading this is to really show interest in all of the organizations. Attend the events, follow the Instagram pages (like the photos?), reach out to members, act genuinely excited and happy to be around the members. We love to see your interest because it lets us know that you like us (or at least that you could like us). Any organization, no matter who they are, isn’t going to waist their time on girls who don’t seem like they really want them. Even if we are really interested in you. If we think you don’t want us you’ll be lost behind other girls who seem like they do care.

I’m sure anyone going through recruitment knows that making ANY organization uninterested in you (even if it is one you don’t think you want) is a terrible idea. You’re going to need sororities to keep you around in order to get to the organization you think you want, and even more so you are going to need sororities to keep you around in case the sorority you think you want decides they don’t want you. Putting all your eggs in one basket is the worst mistake you can make.

I could probably go on a lot longer about recruitment; what to expect, how to act, what to wear, etc. and maybe I will write blogs about all those things. But in an effort to not make this post too long or wordy I’m going to end this here.

Keep your mind open and enjoy your summer without freaking out too much. It really does all work out in the end.

From me for you,

Julie

For more posts from me about sorority life and recruitment click these links below!:

Why AOII Wednesday

The Ups and Downs of Recruitment: Hello AOII!

Happy Birthday to My Roommate: Part 1

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It’s not everyday that you meet two awesome people to call your best friends and spend everyday of your life with. It’s even rarer that these two people have their 19th birthdays back to back. Well luckily for me I was blessed with a Starr and a Kelli, so I figured I would take this time (since it is indeed their birthdays) to tell you all how great they truly are.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLI!

Thank you for being my exact clone. Seriously though I had never met someone as similar to me until I met you. I couldn’t pick a better person to rant to about my emotional life than you because there’s no one out there who gets it quite like you do. We’re living identical lives (….maybe because we spend 90% of our day together). Which brings me to the next thing. Thanks for always being there when I come home, for taking extra time in the shower just so you can talk to me because you know I take wayyy longer than you do, for having dance parties with me whenever the time is right, for singing Spanish music with me, and for always being down for robe snuggles. I love the fact that we can sit in our room in complete silence for hours without it seeming even close to weird.

I honestly think you are one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. You’re such a good friend because you always listen to me, even if I’m saying the same things I’ve said a million times before. You always come through for me when I’m at those low points and I love you for that. I wouldn’t want to share my closet or thoughts with anyone else. Thank you for being the best picture posing partner in the world (hence why you are the only person I ever have pictures with). You’ve really upped my Instagram game (lol). Thanks for loving weird, obscure, dramatic Netflix movies as much as I do, and for always watching them with me late at night.

Thank you for convincing me to do AOII even though I protested against it for so long. Honestly it was the best decision I made this semester and it wouldn’t have occurred without you. I really think that being sisters has made us so much closer and I hate to think what would’ve happened had we not joined together. You’re the best panda pal a girl could ask for.

Finally I’d like to say sorry. I’m sorry for being noisy and waking you up, for turning the light on when you’re sleeping, for shedding hair literally everywhere in our room, for convincing you to skip the gym with me, and for being brutally honest at times when I should just give you love and cuddles. I promise to work on being better to you in these areas (lol I’ll try).

I can’t wait to see what the next few years has in store for us! Thanks for being the second half to our power couple Kel.

I love you so so much Kelli Rubin, thanks for being the best roommate ever!

From me for you,

Julie

14 Reasons Why You Should Not Cry in Frat Staircases

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1.They’re dirty.

2.It’s a public place, people will walk by.

3.Every drunk girl that passes you will look at you with concern and ask you if you need their help.

4.You’ll have to tell every one of these girls no and that you’re “fine”.

5.The person that you’re crying about/to will look as if he’s been just hit with a train of emotion that he wasn’t ready for.

6.The lighting isn’t flattering.

7.Your date will send you multiple concerned texts asking where you disappeared to.

8.The date of the person you’re crying about/to will be concerned about where he went.

9.You’ll miss out on prime dancing opportunities.

10.You’ll have to address the fact that you really are just as dramatic as everyone says.

11.You’ll become “that girl” that cried at formal (there’s always one).

12.The person you’re crying about/to will look like a complete jerk as all of his friends walk by and assume that he is the source of your tears. (Which he is, but still).

13.You’ll have to text the person you cried about/to in the morning to make sure that he knows that you don’t hate him and that you’re not crazy.

14.You’re not a cute crier.

Take my advice.

From me for you,

Julie

 

The College Library Struggle

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I’m currently blogging from the library. Whaaaaaaat? I know. Anyone who knows me knows that I never set foot in the library. I much prefer to do my homework in the warm comfort of my bed (maybe because it’s easier to procrastinate? Maybe because I hate walking in the cold? Maybe because I’m just lazy?). But alas, it’s finals weeks which means it’s time for me to be that girl.

Yes, I’m that girl. The girl that all the regular year-round library goers hate. The person that only comes around during finals week to take up valuable desks and tables for hours on end that are usually open for all the good regular library attending people. I apologize if you hate me. I would hate me too.

But my adventures in the library these past two days have led me to realize why I never actually came to the library in the first place, but also why I should more often. So I figured I’d break the library struggle down for all of you (because I hope you can relate and also because I’m avoiding writing my Shakespeare paper).

1.I can never find a seat.

This is the absolute worst. So yes being that I only visit the library during finals week means that the place is a mad house. Finding a table is next to impossible if you haven’t arrived at 10 AM to claim one. I had to walk four floors last night to find a seat at 6:30 PM. Surprise, surprise there was not a seat to be had so I abandoned ship to find a random empty classroom in an academic building (and there were barely any that weren’t occupied). The library is a turf war folks and if you’re not there to claim your spot early enough then you’re just out of luck.

2.Sports teams/friend groups/sorority sisters/fraternity brothers

Not only is finding a seat next to impossible but it’s even more difficult if you are on your own. As I wander around and pray for a seat I get more and more annoyed when I see all the before mentioned groups sitting together. It’s like one person came at 8 AM and stole the coveted study room on the second floor and then texted all of their friends to let them know that they can cycle through whenever they want throughout the day (leaving friendless people like me with no where to go). As long as there is one person in said room or at said table then it’s claimed for the day. More often than not when one person in this group leaves there is one followed right behind to fill the place. Making it once again impossible to find a prime spot to study in.

3.When you finally find a seat.

Today I was lucky enough to tag onto a table that my lovely friend Kelly Saffery had claimed early in the morning (she’s sitting across from me right now….hey Kel). So as I’ve been sitting here all day I’ve noticed the steady flow of people who walk by with sad, concerned faces over not finding a table. I’ve watched them sigh in annoyance and grunt over their bad luck. And as much as it sucks to be in that spot (obviously I know), when you’re not in it you just feel like a 100% badass. Like yes, I won this battle, I got to this table before you did and I’m not leaving for the whole day so ha ha. (You actually can’t leave or your spot will 100% be taken). It’s evil but oh so satisfying.

4. Sitting up when you do your homework makes you 2000x more productive

This is a sad one because, like I said, I’m a bed studier. I lay down when I do my work, I take nap breaks, I get cozy, it’s great. But it’s also terrible because it’s way less productive. In the library you’re kind of forced to do your work. First of all, it’s too quiet in the library to distract yourself with conversation (plus the hardcore people will give you annoyed looks if you are too loud). Secondly, sitting upright and spreading all your things out just makes you feel like you have your life together. When I feel that way I suddenly find myself making lists, planning my workload, actually doing my work (whaaaaat????). I felt so inspired and productive by my library atmosphere that I wrote this blog post! (Which admittedly is not my homework, but I tend to avoid writing these out of laziness so it’s still a step in the right direction). If I had done this library thing all semester who knows where I would be?! (Probably a lot further behind on my tv shows honestly….)

So there you go, that’s my little library rant. I should probably get back to work now. (Also I’m now that girl who is taking up a four person table by herself because Kelly just left me…….sorry library people).

Here’s a final goodluck to all the final takers out there. We can do it *insert muscle emoji* !

From me for you,

Julie

 

For All You Freshman Out There

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Helllllooooo again! Forgive me for not posting very often but I’ve just been so busy since being back at school. Today I thought I’d talk about freshman (seeing as though they just arrived at Gettysburg two days ago). This being my sophomore year means it’s my first year really getting to see the freshman from an outside perspective. I finally understand how stupid I looked and sounded in those first few weeks of school. My friends and I have already witnessed freshman do a lot of funny and embarrassing things since we’ve been back. For example trying to use their ID to swipe out of the gym, saying “he asked me if I was a junior but I had my lanyard with me” (FYI, he knew you weren’t a junior, we know everyone, it’s a small school), and not yet understanding the concept of choosing your table in Servo before getting your food so you don’t have to aimlessly wander to find your friends. Even though all these things are very funny to me now,  at the same time I can’t blame them. I mean, they’re new, this is a brand new, scary experience for them and, like everyone, they just need time to adjust (though this adjustment period does cause all the upperclassmen to have to endure chaotic and confused surroundings). They’re new, they’re cute, and eventually they’ll just seem like classmates just like everyone else. We can’t hate them because we are them, just a little more experienced, that’s all.

But even still, the arrival of the freshman has reminded me of a poem I wrote a few months back. It was a reflection on my childhood and my life now. I wanted it to be a direct comparison so some of you may notice that the stanzas have the same number of lines and that each line has the same number of syllables as it’s partner line in the other stanza. I also tried to use a lot of consonance and assonance and repetition. The reasoning behind all of this structure was to portray the fact that even though I am now 18 (at the time when I wrote this) I still reflect that little girl on the swing set.

Reflecting on Then
Julie Miranto

A little house with blue shutters.
A tree not too tall
but seeming as though it touched the sky.
A slightly rusted play set
with a swing that had the power to,
one day,
reach the top of the tree.

A little dorm with blue accents.
A world not too wide
but seeming as though it touches beyond.
A slightly rattled young girl
with a step that has the power to,
one day,
reach the top of the world.

This poem was an embodiment of my experience as a freshman, so it only seems appropriate to apply it to the freshman now. They may seem annoying and silly, but they too have the power to one day reach the top of the world. So freshman, I appreciate you.

From me for you,

Julie

My Little Corner of the World

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Officially blogging from my bed in my new room (super stoked about this)! I spent hours yesterday unpacking and unloading things (silently cursing myself for having so many shirts/dresses to hang up) and setting up my room exactly how I wanted it, and now it’s finally done! For those of you who don’t know I’m living in a triple this year (shoutout my roomies Kelli and Starr) in the theme house my friends and I created. It’s basically this giant, old brick house that we are super excited to be living in (one because it has a kitchen, two because we have no supervision, and three because there’s 25 of us living together). Basically it’s an ideal living situation.

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So the basic story of how my friends and I were able to live in such an awesome house goes like this: Myself and nine of my friends applied to live in a Theme House (houses that change on campus every year based on the groups that apply and work under a specific theme to help improve the community or support a cause or organization), we applied under the name of Education House. A few weeks later we found out that we got a house! We we’re going to be living on the second and third floor of one of the Spark Houses on campus (a permanent house on campus that always retains the same idea or theme, new members can come live every year under that theme). We didn’t love this situation because we didn’t have our own house or our own common space to share. We talked to Res Life and they let us know that they were so impressed with our application and presentation that they were considering making us a Spark House and thereby giving us our own house to live in and making us a permanent feature on campus for other students to live in for years to come (we we’re super flattered by this). A few weeks later they let us know that we would be taking the place of one of the previous Spark Houses and be living in the house that obviously you’ve seen in the picture above. This now meant that we had 25 beds to fill, which we gladly did with a bunch of our friends.

hhhh

So now I’m here! I got to move in a week early because me and my friends are helping the club CHEERS do some informational skits during orientation about safe drinking and sexual assault prevention. The house is about half full so far because some of us are here for orientation and others play sports and have preseason. I wanted decorating my room to be pretty easy so I basically decided that I wanted to hang a tapestry. This way I could cover as much wall space as possible without having to bring and hang a bunch of posters (I hated all the white wall space in my room last year). I had the lights already so I strung them up around the tapestry (the regular lighting is so harsh and ugly that alternate lighting is almost required). Besides that I pretty much brought back the same comforter and pillows that I had last year.

gegeg

My desk is pretty simple. I brought back the framed pictures of my sister and Kelsey and hung up some new ones on the bulletin boards that I brought back with me from last year. The thing I’m most excited about is my printer because now I don’t have to go to the library or mooch off my friends to print (thank god, I highly suggest that all college students have a printer in their room cause it’s just a pain if you don’t).

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So that’s basically it! It’s simple, but I like things that way. I’m so excited to get this year started and see all of my friends as they come back (I still can’t believe that I’m already into my sophomore year, like what???). I plan to spend a lot of time in my cozy little corner of the house!

From me for you,

Julie

Back To College…. Depression?

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Pretty much anyone who knows me or reads my blog will know that I’m beyond excited to go back to school. I mean I’ve only mentioned this about a billion times and though I am thrilled to be back (in 7 days), lately I’ve had this really moody, sad, depressed feeling that I can’t shake. At first I attributed it to just regular old moodiness, I mean everyone gets in their bag sometimes and I’m definitely no stranger to the feeling. However, the other day Delia texted saying that she was feeling depressed and called it “pre school depression”. I instantly knew that that was exactly what I was feeling and told her that I’d felt kind of depressed lately too. But here’s the catch…..I don’t know why? I mean I’ve been counting down the days until I’ll be back on campus for goodness sake, so why have I felt so weighed down lately? Well, I’ve come up with a few theories as to why back to college depression is a thing.

The thing is, this isn’t the first year I felt depressed before going back to school. Last year I spent the bulk of my last month of summer watching the tv show Greek (it’s a show about college students in greek life from like the mid-2000s. Great show, I recommend it). So as I’m watching this you’d think that I’d be getting super stoked to go to school (I mean the people on this show make it seem so fun), and though I was excited, at the same time I began to feel really depressed as I would sit and watch it. Looking back on it now I think maybe the depression came from the unknown. All of my friends were leaving for school and I was still home and was so ready to just be there but I felt like the wait was forever long. On top of this I think my nerves and anxiety to start college were adding to the depression. I was worried that I would get to school and that it wouldn’t be what I expected or that I wouldn’t make a ton of friends and live this awesome college life that they were having on the tv show. I think my anticipation of the worst in the back of my brain made me depressed.

However, if this is what made me depressed last summer than there should be no reason I’m depressed this summer, right? I mean, this is my second year, I know the campus and the professors, I have amazing friends, I’m living in a beautiful house with really fun people, I’ve found my path at Gettysburg, so what could be making me upset, or nervous, or anxious? Delia attributed her depression to just needing to be at school, she said that she was just over everything and wanted to be back on campus (essentially she’s depressed because she wants to be back but we still have seven days to wait). I think part of my depression is attributed to this. Similarly to last summer, people have started leaving for school and I’m just sitting here patiently waiting and it’s driving me crazy. Or maybe my depression is coming from the fact that my freshman year went by so quickly and now that sophomore year is here I’m scared that my whole college life is going to pass by before I even realize it.

But even more than this I think my theory of nerves and anxiety for back to school making me depressed is actually a large part of what could be going on. I think I’m anxious about what the year will hold. I mean, a lot of things in my life have kind of been up in the air lately; what sorority I’ll end up in, my friendship group dynamic, my boy relationships. I’m in an unclear state in all of these areas right now, and I think that might be making me depressed. I’m once again letting my subconscious imagine the worst (my dreams have been crazy lately) and it’s manifesting itself in this nagging sadness. I can’t determine what is going to happen this year but I know that things are definitely going to change and that’s what depresses me. I had the best freshman year I could’ve asked for, and though I know my sophomore year will be just as great (if not better), I think some part of my brain isn’t so sure.

So maybe this is where my back to college depression is coming from. Maybe I’m nervous, or anxious, or maybe I’m just really done with the hum-drum of my everyday summer life and am sad that I have to live it for one more week. Delia and I aren’t the only people to feel like this, and I honestly believe it’s a real thing that a lot of college kids face. But beyond all my random depressed states, I still am really excited to be back at school!

SEVEN DAYS!!

From me for you,

Julie