Throughout my time at Harvard, I’ve found that most people consider the fall semester of sophomore year to be the hardest semester of college. So far, my experience has proven this sentiment to be pretty accurate.
The semester seems to move at a faster pace, classes become more focused on concentration requirements, you’re introduced to House life, recruiting for summer internships and jobs starts to get serious, and you have to balance extracurriculars, having a social life, and academic success without the same systems in place to help first-years. There’s so many lessons that I’ve learned during this special semester, and here are the biggest ones:
Prioritize yourself!
In trying to keep up with the semester, it got very easy to neglect myself. It was essential that I kept reminding myself to make myself and my health the center of my life. I started doing yoga, took myself on more walks, treated myself when I succeeded and when I was disappointed, and surrounded myself with people who also wanted to see me thrive. Harvard’s Center for Wellness and Health Promotion also has amazing services for students, and I can’t wait to use them next semester. Academic achievement is great, but you should never fully lose yourself to academics.
Communicate With Your Professors!
As a first-year, I didn’t attend office hours nearly as often as I should have. I only really communicated with professors when I needed extensions or excused absences. This semester showed me just how beneficial it could be to connect with my professors even if I didn’t have some immediate need within the class. For instance, I learned about really interesting opportunities for research in international relations and with specific researchers by attending office hours for the professor of my class about American foreign policy. Participating in a professor’s work or research outside of the classroom is an especially enriching experience, but I wouldn’t have known about the ways to do so if I hadn’t fostered a relationship. Additionally, if you find yourself struggling, fostering a relationship with them makes it much easier to approach them for tailored support.
Lean on your community and the resources within it!
House Resident deans, tutors, and even neighbors can be great sources of community and support when you need it most! It took me a while before I felt comfortable raising issues I was having with my tutors, but their encouragement and guidance to various resources I could use were very impactful for me. My house’s tutors are also good at cheering students up, and it wasn’t until the end of the semester that I realized how relaxing and fun their outings into Boston could be. Also, the pre-professional events hosted by tutors in the House. If I had read the emails I was sent (there’s so many that I’ve lost track a few times), I would have known about events that would have seriously helped me in my job and internship search.
It Is Not Over Yet!
Because of how demanding sophomore fall can be, it may sometimes feel like things will never “get better”. Failures feel like they are impossible to recover from, and the weight of academic, social, and personal pressures seems overwhelming. However, the semester does eventually end, and there are still at least 5 more semesters to grow and improve. I believe the challenges of this semester have made me a stronger student, and now I can go into next semester equipped with everything this fall has taught me.
Many of these lessons seem obvious, but the hustle and bustle of the semester can make them easy to forget. As I enter sophomore spring and beyond, I will carry these fundamental lessons and take charge of my experience at Harvard.
