Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
8 — Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Combatting the sophomore slump
A
t
the
beginning
of
freshman
year,
everything is so new
and exciting. Every first-year
student is in the same boat
when it comes to making new
friends, navigating new classes
and weighing different majors.
Many of us are told we have
such a long time to figure out
what we want to study and not
to worry, so we don’t. Then
sophomore year rolls around
and some of us start to freak
out. Not only do we have less
time to figure out what we’re
majoring in, but many of us feel
lost, confused and exhausted.
The sophomore slump refers to
the struggles, fears and fatigue
we feel in our second year.
As
the
exhilaration
of
freshman year fades into the
monotony of sophomore year,
there’s little new excitement
and many tend to feel burnt
out. Alongside the day to day
movements,
classes
become
harder and hours of homework
start to pile up. As schoolwork
and responsibilities pile on,
more and more stress builds.
Four years seems like a short
amount of time in the long run,
but when multitudes of stress
and anxiety build up, it can
feel like a lot longer by year
two.
As a sophomore myself, I’ve
noticed the vast difference
between last year and this
year, both academically and
socially. At this time last year,
everything was new to me, so
it was exciting to try to figure
it out. Things are no longer
new this year, but they’re also
no longer exciting to figure
out. Last year, it was fun to
go out, meet new people and
experience
the
“Michigan
experience” as a freshman.
This year, I don’t have nearly
as much enthusiasm for going
out and, with friend groups
already established, it seems
no one is trying to meet new
people anymore. As someone
pursuing dual degrees, feeling
the pressure to declare my
major and fit everything into
my schedule is not fun. It’s
tiring, draining and stressful.
Sometimes, it feels like I’m
simply scraping by. I know
this
is
a
sentiment
many
sophomores share on campus.
Seth Corba is a sophomore
in the School of Nursing. It’s
widely known that studies
in
the
medical
field
tend
to be challenging, and may
often require a greater time
commitment than liberal arts
degrees.
Corba
decided
to
study nursing because, as he
said, he was “in hospitals a lot
growing up, so the healthcare
professionals
around
me
inspired me to have a career
in that field and be able to
help people as much as they
did.” While he enjoys his field
of study, sophomore year has
come
with
some
setbacks.
“The
workload
increases
a lot since freshman year
because the classes just get
much more difficult and I am
feeling fatigued, burnt out and
overwhelmed.” Overwhelming
classes, work and the dawning
of the long four-year haul of
getting your degree(s) can all
lead to this slump.
It
may
seem
daunting,
but
sophomores
can
beat
the slump. According to the
University of Texas at Dallas,
it’s critical to prioritize both
physical and mental health
first. Drowning in homework
and not feeling like you’re
living up to your expectations
can really take a toll on you, so
it’s important to take time to
care for yourself and seek out
support if you need help. To
combat his sophomore slump,
Corba said he is taking time
to just “exist as a student.
I’ve also been spending a lot
of time in nature to center
myself outside of school along
with spending time with those
I love.” Sophomore year is
stressful for a lot of us, but
it’s important to remember
that we’re not alone in feeling
this way. If you’re struggling
mentally, CAPS (Counseling
and Psychological Services) is
a program here on campus that
is available to all students for
counseling and mental health
services.
The
sophomore
slump can make you feel burnt
out, but it is completely normal
to feel this way, especially
at a school as academically
challenging and competitive as
the University of Michigan.
KATIE MARALDO
Opinion Columnist
Design By Tye Kalinovic
College falls short in teaching students
life skills — here’s how we can improve
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S
itting
in
Hatcher
Graduate Library, my
eyes
glaze
over
my
history textbook and I find
myself staring out the window
at the flagpole. Why is it at
half-mast? Now that I think
about it, when was the last
time I saw flagpoles not at
half-mast?
When four students were
murdered in my hometown
and in my old classroom, Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
ordered
flags across the state to be
lowered for 12 days. After
19 more students and two
teachers were murdered in
Uvalde, Texas, President Joe
Biden ordered flags across the
country to be lowered for four
days. Today, it turns out, the
flag in the Diag is lowered in
honor of Queen Elizabeth II;
what a relief that it isn’t in
memory of dead children.
After Nov. 30, 2021, I had
school shooting nightmares
every day for six weeks. After
Uvalde, another two weeks
of nightmares. After I was at
the national March For Our
Lives Rally in Washington,
D.C. on June 11 and a man
stormed the stage threatening
to shoot us all, and one of my
fellow congressional interns
had to hold me until I could
breathe again, they came back
for two more months. After
a friend innocently let off a
New Year’s Eve popper outside
of Pizza House that sounded
remarkably like a gunshot,
the nightmares came back for
another week. I’m exhausted.
But isn’t everyone?
So many of us who are
supposed to be focusing on
becoming the “Leaders and
Best” are just focusing on
getting
through
the
day.
We’re anxious, depressed and
terrified of the next horrible
thing we’ll see in the news.
We’re trying to complete our
classes while leaders of this
country take away our rights.
We’re even trying to avoid
getting a deadly virus. We’re
preparing for long, vibrant
careers even though we know
the Earth probably won’t make
it that long. Apparently, now,
we also have to worry about
guns at U-M frat parties.
Living
in
a
society
that constantly fails us is
exhausting. When we live in
a country that leaves us with
dead classmates and no bodily
autonomy, where do we go from
here? How do we get excited
about applying for grad school
and going to Rick’s when our
peers are dying? How do we, as
survivors and their loved ones,
move forward when there’s
a new tragedy every week to
remind us?
I don’t mean to pretend
there isn’t progress. I stood
in the Capitol Building and
watched the Protecting Our
Kids Act, the largest gun
violence prevention law in
U.S. history, get passed by the
U.S. House of Representatives,
despite the Senate bill being
much weaker. I’ve seen the
Oxford High School students
after me dedicate their lives
to fighting for Madisyn, Tate,
Justin and Hanna. I am so
proud of my peers who will
not stop marching, yelling and
working until they reach their
goals. I want to be one of them.
I also stood in the Judiciary
Committee hearing room and
wiped the tears falling down
my face as U.S. Rep. Greg
Steube, R-Fla., video-called in
from his home for a hearing
on how to best prevent school
shootings, and showed off
all of his military-style guns
with their accompanying high
capacity magazines. He even
explained how many people
they would each kill and
that he always carries one in
public, just before dropping
one of the 21-round magazines
on the floor. When U.S. Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas,
concernedly asked him if that
gun was loaded, he shot back,
missing her point entirely: “I’m
at my house. I can do whatever
I want with my guns.” How
do we handle watching news
clips of this at night and then
immediately going to class the
next morning?
Sure, we can vote, volunteer
or run for office. We can
share what we care about
on social media and at the
dinner table, but at what
point does the omnipresent
tragedy overshadow the joy of
working for change? At what
point do we stop and allow
ourselves space to experience
the devastating reality around
us? Oh sorry, too late, you
have a quiz tomorrow. Maybe
the next time I see a flag at
half-mast I just won’t Google
why.
I don’t have a solution.
Self-care doesn’t cut it. Self-
care won’t protect us from
gun violence, police violence,
forced births, climate change
and the litany of other issues
we face every day. It is difficult
to truly capture the exhaustion
that comes from waking up
each day and watching your
country fail you. Especially
when you’re one of the people
who will deal with the reality
that
80-year-old
senators
leave behind. Some of us may
respond in different ways, but
none of us have the chance
to truly feel our grief and
concern over the world around
us. I’ll never forget those who
have been killed, and I will
never stop hoping for change.
However, I can’t promise I’ll
never stop fighting for it. One
day, the fatigue of tragedy will
take me out.
The Fatigue of Tragedy
MADISON CUTLER
Opinion Contributor
A
s college students, none
of us are strangers
to high stress levels.
At some point in our college
careers, most of us will be faced
with 5:00 a.m. nights to finish
essays worth 20% of our grades
and networking events for which
we feel not at all prepared. I’m
convinced that the fact I’ve
made it this far in college is
partially due to “winging it”
and partially due to obsessively
planning all of my days down to
the minute.
The fact of the matter is,
nothing truly prepares us for
college, and a lot of us end up
“winging it” just as I have. And
once we’re in college, we are
met with the same dilemma
— college doesn’t equip us for
the rest of our lives. Our sense
of agency over our own lives
could be drastically improved
if colleges dedicated more time
to teaching students life skills
rather than primarily teaching
students career skills (which is
another area colleges fall short
in to begin with).
A 2021 survey revealed that
81% of college graduates wish
they had been taught more life
skills before graduating. Some of
the main areas where students
felt lost were investing money,
planning long-term financial
goals, managing student loan
debt and learning how to budget.
Outside financial literacy,
students
were
concerned
about being unable to cook,
do laundry or reset a Wi-Fi
router. For issues like those,
one would think we could turn
to our parents or guardians for
assistance. I have been lucky
enough to have my mom provide
me with much of the knowledge
I will need to succeed in life
outside of my career. However,
it is ignorant to assume that
every student has the privilege
of a safe, comfortable living
environment with access to
someone who is knowledgeable
in all of those areas. Luckily,
our generation has brought with
it technology — we have access
to the internet, which gives us
access to any knowledge we
could possibly desire. Even then,
it would be convenient to have a
mainstream form of guidance
provided through our education.
Fortunately,
progress
has been made. In the state
of Michigan, Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer
recently
signed
a
bill requiring all high schools
to include a financial literacy
course in their curriculum, an
invaluable asset to any student.
At the University of Michigan we
actually have a couple resources
such as a one-credit LSA course
about financial literacy; the
Smart
Borrowing
initiative,
which
includes
counseling
about student finances; and
the National Endowment for
Financial
Education,
which
offers
many
resources
for
students to learn about money
management.
Personally, I did not know
about any of these resources
until doing some research for
this piece. Maybe I did not
hear about them since I was an
incoming freshman during the
“COVID year,” but nevertheless
it does seem to be a general area
that students should be made
more aware of. With the new
presidency of Santa Ono, we can
only hope that the change in
administration will encourage
this
much-needed
shift
in
awareness.
With all that said, we would
hope that we are preparing
students well for their careers
since we are not necessarily
preparing them for some aspects
of life itself. Unfortunately,
another survey conducted by
McGraw Hill Education shows
that a mere 40% of college
seniors feel prepared for their
upcoming life in the workforce.
Participants reported that they
wish their colleges would have
provided more internships and
professional
opportunities,
more career preparation and
more
alumni
networking
opportunities.
I am lucky enough to be
in the College of Pharmacy,
which has only about 100
undergraduate students, thus
giving me ample opportunity
to work in a personalized,
one-on-one environment with
instructors who are eager to
connect
me
with
whatever
and whoever I need to prepare
for my career. However, this
isn’t the case for all colleges
within the University. If you
are
feeling
estranged
from
your administration or your
future goals, consider smaller
communities
within
the
University, which will help
you to accomplish your career
goals while feeling a sense
of solidarity with your peers
— for example, professional
fraternities.
LSA senior Izzy Steinberg,
executive director of Wolverine
Support Network, reports on
this solidarity phenomena by
emphasizing “the power of peer
support and forming genuine
connections
on
campus.”
There are over 1,400 clubs on
campus, tens of thousands of
students and infinite things to
do in Ann Arbor. With all these
options comes the opportunity
to connect with like-minded
students and superiors, which
are both crucial to career
preparation and success. There
is a world of opportunity
which we can and should take
advantage of.
Change
and
indecision
are undoubtedly scary parts
of college, but you are not
alone. Between 20% and 50%
of college students come in
undecided and about 75% of
college students change their
major at least once before
graduation. Even though many
schools allow two years of time
before declaration of majors,
any time taken to “explore
different options” can end up
feeling like wasted time that
could have been spent taking
core requirements.
Granted,
some
majors
allow more flexibility than
others. For example, with a
Communication
and
Media
Major there are 28 credits
that must be strictly adhered
to, as opposed to a Bachelor
of Science in Pharmaceutical
Sciences, which demands 73
inflexible
credits.
For
this
reason, students often rush
themselves to choose a path
more quickly than they are
ready for. The idea of knowing
exactly what you want to do
at a young age is flawed — our
education system should have
more fluidity, opportunity and
exploration.
In the grand scheme of
things, a degree from the
University is great, but what if
you don’t know what to do with
that degree? What if you don’t
have any interpersonal skills or
blow through your newfound
earnings
within
a
couple
months because you weren’t
taught financial literacy? Let’s
do better as an institution and
as a holistic system in helping
our students carry their bright
knowledge out with them with
self assurance that they can
and will do great things in life.
ANNA TRUPIANO
Opinion Columnist
Design By Reid Graham