I grew up in front of the television. That’s what happens when you have two working parents and no siblings. I sat in front of my television every day and observed life through Hollywood’s perspective. The movies that stuck out to me were the ones about college life. For me, college was the dream from pre-K onward.
All the movies were the same—they began with freshman move-in, a time of reinvention. Anyone could be anyone as the trivial labels from high school were thrown in the trash. Next, the movie’s main character would miraculously meet her best friend in the elevator and walk into the love of their life while running late to class. Then, there would be some drama about her future career, saving an old historical building, or finding out she is next in line for a foreign throne—all pretty basic stuff. The end of the movie then skips to senior year, when her life is all put together and nothing could ever go wrong. There is one essential flaw, however, in all these depictions of college life—they never show you what happens between finding a new identity and going off into the real world. Apparently, these kinds of crucial moments in development aren’t entertaining enough for regular showings on the Hallmark Channel.
Given how little I have seen the sophomore year of college on TV, I had no idea what to expect entering my second year at BC. The class of 2025 is the first class in over three years to have a fully formed “normal” sophomore year—without online classes or weekly COVID-19 tests—so no upperclassmen really know what this experience entails either. Was I expecting the same level of excitement I had during my first year? No. But I sure as hell wasn’t expecting to feel this: My grade got old. After only a year on this campus, I feel that most of the sophomores see themselves as too good for any “adventure.” Everything feels below them, in the bluntest way possible. The rose-colored lens that covered freshman year has been ripped off our faces, and now we are confronted with the realities of college life: the routines.
Every weekend is the exact same: wake up, do endless hours of homework, go to a friend’s dorm to pregame, stand in a crowded Walsh eight-man, go to an afterparty, fall asleep on the floor. This is pretty much the quintessential Boston College sophomore weekend. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m bored of this repetition. There must be more to sophomore year than Walsh parties. Don’t get me wrong—occasionally I will find a nice party that has the right mix of people who don’t care if they look cringeworthy when dancing in a common room. Nonetheless, the majority of the time, people just stand and talk about a crazy professor or the next anticipated Walsh throw-down—where people will spend the whole time playing pong over and over again.
I am yearning for more out of my college experience, and I expected more out of my fellow sophomores. Don’t be afraid to be cringey. We only experience college once—make the most of your time in Boston. One weekend, go into the city for something other than Newbury St. Alternatively, go on the Green Line and get off at a random stop to walk around. More than anything else, try to see the city we pay so much to be close to. Let’s bring back our excitement to be on campus. I know classes have just gotten exceptionally harder for a lot of us, and you may have thought you could manage the five new clubs you signed up for, so letting off steam in a Walsh eight-man seems very convenient. That said, if you stay captivated with the idea of being the “cool college student who would never want to be associated with anything fun,” you will end up wasting your time at BC. I hope this is a wake-up call to anyone looking at their days here and getting overwhelmed by the sameness. I have a challenge for you: Do something out of your comfort zone today. Whether it be asking your crush on a date or taking all your friends bowling, just do something different! Maybe then Hollywood will make a movie called “College: Sophomore Year.”
