As a sophomore at Pitzer, I have experienced a whole new set of stressors since I returned back
to campus. The newness and excitement of college seemed to have faded away. During my first year
I was guided into the world of college with more resources for support. I was expected to
make mistakes and learn from them. The following year I felt the pressure to become an expert
at navigating my way through the rest of my time at Pitzer. I wasn’t receiving the extra attention
anymore. I decided I had to become more academically focused; not knowing what I wanted
out of my college experience terrified me. Before, I had just picked a bunch of different classes
to take because they intrigued me. Now I had to actually start thinking about requirements and
majors. I was pressured to take control but the responsibility overwhelmed me. Sophomore is
such an appropriate term to use for second year students because it’s literal meaning in Greek
is wise fool. This describes a period in which I believed that my wisdom and lessons from the
first year of college prepared me to handle life’s challenges independently, but I was foolish in
thinking that my learning had ceased. The sophomore slump is a time for growth. Pitzer created
a program that helps sophomores during this developmental stage of confusion. The Sophomore
Year Experience (SYE) gives sophomores a space to discuss concerns that are specific to our
class. Because it is run by upperclassmen, you benefit from some of the same mentoring and
advising services that first year students receive. It is a useful organization that has soothed my fears
and helped me tackle my sophomore slump.
Posted by Jada Jones ’17, Economics
