In the beginning of your freshman year, everything was new, exciting and easy. Now, everything has an additional layer of complexity and stress that was completely unexpected. As we at The Daily Clog went from prefurnished dorm rooms to the complex world of building our own Ikea furniture, we learned a bit about the struggles of sophomore year.
Apartment stress. When it comes to your first apartment, there are an infinite amount of things you’re going to have to deal with. Crazy landlords, strict leases, obnoxious rent payments, annoying neighbors, endless unpacking and the list goes on! One of the worst things is trying to be efficient and organized in order to keep your apartment tidy and comfortable while at the same time trying to actively avoid being “that person.” Or if you’re not that person — who creates a color-coded chore list on the first day — it really sucks having to deal with that guy. And toilet paper! After having infinite rolls of toilet paper in the unit bathrooms, running out of toilet paper in your apartment is pretty much the apocalypse.
Free stuff is not as cool as it was last year. Over these next couple of weeks, there will be various events that will be giving out free everything — food, towels, stickers, key chains, juice, etc. During our freshman years, free stickers were the shit! “Heck yeah, I’m gonna put this sticker on my obnoxiously large bulletin board” was probably a thought you had during your first Welcome Week. Caltopia was a utopia, and all-you-can-drink Naked juices were heaven on earth. But now as we’ve hit our second years of college, there’s something about all the free stuff that has lost its spark. Now our thoughts consist of “What the hell am I going to do with all of these stickers?”
Cynical-about-freshman feeling. Let’s all be honest for a second, and admit that we’ve had this feeling. As we watch all the freshmen move into the Units — dollies, parents and space savers in tow — we say “Been there, done that.” We roll our eyes as they collect countless Chobani yogurts at Caltopia, not realizing that they will not be able to finish them by their expiration dates. But try not to be too cynical because deep down in our hearts, we know the true reason of our pretentious cynicism. That’s right — pure jealousy. We envy them and their excited hearts and open minds. We envy them for all the new experiences they’re going to have next two semesters. But most of all, more than anything else, we envy them for their meal plan and unlimited toilet paper. 100 percent serious.
What second-year stresses do you have? Let us know in the comments!
Image source: SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget under Creative Commons
Contact Gabrielle Nguyen at gnguyen@dailycal.org.
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