Letter to incoming sophomores

Devin Owen
MSMU Class of 2026

(6/2024) Congratulations! You made it through your first year of college—phew! I have learned that there’s three typical feelings towards the end of your first year of college: 1. "Oh my God, that was the best year ever! I love college and being free," 2. "Thank God that nonsense is finally over for three months," and 3. indifference. Personally, at the end of my freshman year I fell more into the second category. As you have now ended your first year of college and are entering into your second year here at the Mount, I encourage you to keep an open mind and be ready for a year both easier and harder simultaneously. As I have just recently finished my sophomore year at the Mount, I’m looking back at it with much more fondness and love than I had for my first year. Sophomore year is the year where you begin to really feel your place at Mount; you’re more comfortable with the environment, you have your people, you know where you’re going, you’ve found the places that you enjoy visiting, you’ve navigated how to drive on Fifteen, and you have made the Mount a ‘home away from home.’

This past year has been an absolute whirlwind of emotions. This was the first year that I actually felt at home at the Mount: I managed to find a job waitressing and, of course, writing for the News-Journal; I found a great group of friends—some of whom feel more like siblings than friends—and a dynamic was created in my suite, with my roommates that made me feel a sense of comfort and joy. It became a place where I felt free. One of my favorite parts about this year was living in a suite compared to a two-person dorm. Instead of there being two of us, there was actually a total of four of us. The first week of classes we spent the entirety of our nights bingeing the ‘Twilight Saga’ film collection—one of our roommates had never seen it, so we deemed it a ‘rite of passage.’ This is what we refer to as our "honeymoon phase," which ended as soon as we got situated with our new routine, and then the arguments commenced. It’s only normal though; all people tend to have disagreements and the four of us were no exception. Having roommates is much easier after your freshman year because you’ve become accustomed to living with another person after your first year at college—my roommates and I found it significantly easier because we all grew up with siblings.

I spent a very large portion of my sophomore year drowning myself in work, both schoolwork and my job off campus. I left very little time for myself to enjoy what college has to offer. That would probably be my one regret about this past year, I could have experienced a lot more if I gave myself the time. I even had to work on my anniversary with my boyfriend, so we didn’t get to celebrate together that day! That is not to say though that I regret working hard and making money entirely; I just wish I had given myself some time to have fun as well. There were a few times I got to go enjoy the things that typical college students at the Mount could enjoy though, usually because my boyfriend would drag me out of bed on a Saturday night and tell me that we’re going to socialize with our friends. My work schedule allowed me one night on the whole weekend to go hangout with friends and colleagues; however, I was always either completely exhausted from work the night prior or wanting to be well rested for work the next day. That being said, it took A LOT of convincing to get me out of the comfortable confinements of my suite on a Saturday night. I can recall though a few times that I felt absolutely thrilled that he managed to get me up though—one of which was when we went to an Artic Monkeys concert with some friends in early September. It was an experience so wonderful that I cannot even put it into words. We found out a few days afterwards that this tour was their last as the band was retiring, so it became something I am thrilled to be able to say that I experienced.

One of my favorite things about sophomore year was making such a close circle of friends. My roommate Abby and I didn’t do any sports, but both of our significant others were on a sports team at Mount, which meant that their friends ended up becoming our friends because we were always around. These were the people who were always there to pick me up when I was down, from picking me up from the doctors during my (numerous) concussion check-ups, to lying on the floor with me during finals week while I cried because I was just so over it. These people became the main reasons I loved this year so much, and by the end of it we were all sad to have to say, "see you later." Abby and I were almost entirely glued to each other’s hips this year, and both of us being English majors led us to having a lot in common, including the classes we took each semester. It feels so good to have someone who you can get along with so well and look to for help when it’s needed; I hope everyone gets to find their own Abby here at the Mount.

With all of this in mind, I hope that all of you upcoming sophomores get to have a year filled with ups and downs, moments of joy, sadness, challenges, lots of laughter, and a year full of experiences to look back on for the rest of your lives. The world is only what you make it; and while you don’t know everything, nor will you ever, don’t let that deter you from experiencing the world with all it has to offer.

Good luck on your sophomore year! You got this!