Charity Williams, Web Editor

Going into my junior year of college, I wasn’t expecting it to be as stressful as it has been. Looking back on my last two years of college, they have been easy compared to my junior year. Now that I’ve gotten further into my education, I am starting to realize that my future is a lot closer than I realize and I’m still not ready for it. With junior year comes questions – a lot of questions. Junior year makes you question your entire college career, and below are some other struggles of junior year that I can’t seem to get away from.

#1: Being An Adult But Not Really Being An Adult

You would think that once you get in college that it would mean you are an adult. But by your junior year of college, you’re still wanting to see your parents on the weekends, you’re still going to be taking clothes home to wash, and you can’t possibly imagine paying bills. Being an adult may legally happen at 18, but really, by your junior year, you’re still wishing you could go back in time. Plus, you’re still not 21. So that means you have to deal with your stress the kid way: ice cream and movies. No wine for you.

#2: When You Realize You Might Not Graduate When You Want To Graduate

Going into college, you think that it’s going to take four years and that’s it; but over time, you will learn that things happen. Life happens. You may have to stay an extra semester. You may have to stay an extra year. You’re going to want to change your major a thousand times and that’s okay. College is about finding out what you like to do. If that takes a little longer than expected, that’s okay too. No need to rush anything. You’re still young.

#3: Life Becomes Super Serious

In your junior year, you’ll suddenly realize that the fun is over. You will have to actually start caring about stuff. That means your life, your future, and what’s important to you. You’re going to hear from your friends less and less. Some friends are going to start getting married. Some are going to start having kids and building a family. You’re going to begin to understand that you’re not a kid anymore.

#4: You Have To Take Your Classes Serious

Freshmen year was about getting a taste of the college life. You might not have done great when it comes to your grades, but, after freshmen year, it is not the time to keep slacking off. Take your classes serious because your GPA really counts. Your GPA is really important to your college career and it may be tempting to want to party every weekend but you went to college to get a degree in an actual field of study. Not a degree in partying.

#5: Money Becomes An Important Issue

Money just wasn’t a concern when you were in high school. That’s because you relied on your parents to give you money. As soon as you graduated high school, you were expected to get a job. That means you are going to be expected to pay for your own stuff. And since you’re a college student, you’re going to be broke. It’s inevitable. But just remember it’s not going to last forever. You’ll be rich in no time, just after college.

#6: Not Having Enough On Your Resume

I don’t understand why employers expect young people to have years and years of experience. It’s just not possible. But you need to have something on your resume even if it’s just a small part time job. And don’t wait to start getting involved on campus at the last minute (unlike me). My advice is to use college to get involved so that your resume doesn’t have one thing on it. Because after college, you are going to need a job. And if you don’t have a healthy looking resume, then getting a job is not going to be in your favor.

#7: Less Time to Figure Out What You Want To Do With Your Life

In your junior year, you are going to have to start making a lot of decisions. These decisions will affect your future. You’re going to have to decide what’s next. Will you finish school? And what happens when you finish? Do you want to go to graduate school? Do you want to move? Do you want to go straight into the workforce? Or do you want to take some time off? Questions like these will begin to weigh on your mind during your junior year and it’s going to stress you out more when you realize you have no idea what’s next.

With struggle comes success. No one said college was easy and it never gets easier over time. It may become more familiar over the years, but it definitely isn’t any less stressful. But everything will be okay in the end, right? Well, at least that’s what I have to think to help me get through it.