Sophomore slump sets in

By Christopher DaCosta

Last December, I emerged from my first quarter as a sophomore a haggard and overworked beast definitely not in the Christmas spirit. It took three weeks and plenty of Nyquil to regain a regular sleeping pattern after four finals and three consecutive all-nighters.

Winter wasn't any better. I lost my Energizer-bunny-like ability to watch night turn into day - an art I perfected freshman year, orchestrated with special quantities of Mission Bakery mochas and tart, taurine-laden Red Bull.

What's going on? I can see my youthful exuberance vanishing as fast as the fashionably ephemeral hairstyle, the faux-hawk. I have made my final descent into the pit known as the Sophomore Slump. A barren place ravaged by apathy, pressing off-campus housing concerns and burning questions (I actually have to pick a major?). The Sophomore Slump is definitely a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

Maybe it's just me, but I find myself pulling out my hair after discovering my ACCESS card balance or wanting to burst into tears each time I lose my keys at the most inopportune times.

All the little things combined with an increasingly difficult course load and horrible love-triangle sagas plaguing my circle of friends have effectively killed my drive and motivation.

For other sophomores, the prospect of studying in exotic locations next fall is reminiscent of the agonizing wait for matriculation after college acceptances arrived when we were in high school.

For the campus bound, we have had to deal with an endless tirade from those heading out of sunny Santa Clara. I have received numerous threats from my friend, Erin, who plans to call me from a beach in Spain in September, just to hear my campus-chains rattle as I shout nasty obscenities back to her.

All of my sophomore friends (including me) have been the hardest hit by this year's blight of colds and flu, turning us into grumpy sloth-like creatures who are impossible to wake. Before this year I never knew it was possible to sleep until four in the afternoon!

As juniors, we will experience constant parades of twenty-first birthday parties, the mythic title of "upperclassman," and a roadmap to all the good party houses. Most of us will be free of core requirements and deeply engrossed in our majors.

For me, the advent of junior year is a shining beacon, giving me a renewed, more optimistic outlook on my college career.