Beginning Sophomore Year

By the time I had finished my Freshman year, I felt that my lifestyle in college had reached a nice stable plateau: I had finally felt comfortable living in the dorms, I had a stable circle of friends, and had become accustomed to the on-campus eating situation. After a year, I had acclimated properly to life on campus, and felt that I was starting to truly enjoy my time there. It is therefore rather counterintuitive that, as soon as my sophomore year began, I threw most of that progress out of the window, leaving behind a good number of my friends and moving into a house 30 minutes away from campus with 9 other guys, most of whom were complete strangers.

I hadn't originally planned on moving out of the dorms: I was happy where I was, and was even considering becoming an RA. But when a close friend offered me my own room in this off-campus housing option, at a fraction of the price of on-campus life, I had a bit of a roller coaster of a decision process. Before I knew it, I was signing the year-long lease for my share of this house.

When September came around and I moved into the house, I had to relearn all the regularities that I had just barely mastered from dorm life. It was a big transition in my living conditions: back in the dorms, there still existed this structure that ensured that there was ample access to facilities and food. Now, I was on my own, and had to figure out getting food, commuting, utilities, and all sorts of far too adult responsibilities.

There was also the challenge of living with this new group of people: I only knew one of them rather well, while the rest were practically strangers. It was a unique relationship situation, a sort of forced friendship we were all involved with due to living together. The successes and struggle of those relationships would play a major part of my sophomore life.

Academically, the situation was no more stable: the start of the biology intro series promised a new slew of challenges, and to add more variables to the situation, I had somehow convinced myself to take a intro to drawing class, a course dependent on a skill I most certainly did not believe I had. I had big plans for the year, from Husky CERT to volunteering and finally a desire to go on a study abroad.

Needless to say, My sophomore year was going to be rather interesting, one way or another.