Dear Junior Year,

How did time fly by so fast? We were just getting to know each other when things got a little crazy and I decided that the answer to all my problems, i.e. homework and deadlines, was to nap as much as possible. Not the best solution in hindsight. But this academic year I spent most of my time between, before, after and dare I even say during class napping. The more hardcore students on campus who sleep less than 12 hours a week might frown upon this excessive sleep but for me this ability to doze off anywhere, anytime is a personal victory after two years of sleep deprivation.

And there were more personal victories, albeit small, that punctuated my junior year. Writing this column has been mostly an exercise in self-indulgence. I write about whatever I want this piece is perhaps going to be the most self-indulgent one yet as I basically sum up some of the wisdom I accrued over this year. Bear with me while I share some of the things I learned my junior year:

1. Napping is good. Napping through class is not.

2. Swine flu can happen to anyone.
3. Never mess with a Moho when it comes to the color of her OneCard.
4. The Holyoke Confessional, as always, is a great source of mindless entertainment, e.g.
   “If the Pakistanis were to take control the Jews would come to America and it would be a whole lot worse” or “ur thinking of Palestinians. Pakistanis aren’t Muslims, genius”

   I can only hope that these are trolls.

5. Liberal arts and trying new things is pretty exciting. But sometimes it’s nice to focus on subjects you already enjoy and are good at.
6. Not having any reading intensive classes can really make reading for pleasure pleasurable.
7. If you play your cards right during add/drop period, you can wind up in classes with professors who take students out to dinner or hand out candy in class. If any professors read this (yeah right!), the key to getting a chili pepper on ratemyprofessor.com is free food. Pizza is preferable but if it is a morning class, coffee or O.J would suffice.
8. Don’t talk about how much work you have in front of an upperclasswoman even if you really do think you have more work. Seriously. Don’t go there.
9. If you have a column due at midnight and it’s brunch the next day the best way to fill up a page is with lists. Too bad I can’t use this device for my papers.

So as I come to the end of Junior year, it is time to select classes for my penultimate semester at Mount Holyoke and have hall choosing for the last time. Any remaining distribution requirements must now be planned out and there is increasingly less room to change direction. Sandwiched between Sophomore Slump and Senioritis, junior year is the transitional period which takes you from declaring your major and applying for a Laurel Fellowship to writing a thesis and applying to graduate schools and jobs. Junior year is when you have finally spent more time at college than is left. It means J-show and finally having a single (but I guess this depends on how well you get along with the Housing Lottery goldfish). And junior year also means measuring your height and the circumference of your head for commencement hats and gowns.

I eagerly anticipate senior year and the many joys and tribulations that come with it. But during my last few weeks as a junior, I am going to cling to these times that have cushioned me from the harder questions and decisions that come with being a senior. To the current sophomore class, I envy you.

Cheers,
A Rising Senior

Related posts:

1. Read Between the Lines: Dear One Card
2. Read Between the Lines: Dear Egg Girl
3. Read Between the Lines: Dear Sui
4. Read Between the Lines: Dear Poets and Artists
5. Mapping Out the Future