Hey everyone, I’m a sophomore in college this year moving into my apartment tomorrow and I can’t help but feel the same sadness I felt last year as a freshman. Last year I was extremely depressed for a while before I adjusted to college life, and I never expected this homrsickness to hit me again.
I am moving in with my two close friends I met last year, and as much as I want to say I am still excited I can’t help but feel completely unmotivated for classes, just as I usually feel for any course. I tall about this with some close friends, but I don’t like bringing it up often since I know I am unhappy about am opportunity to better myself. I just can’t help but feel upset.
I have no problem making friends, attending events, and filling up my time at school and the sad feelings I have usually go away in a week or two, but I don’t know why I am not enjoying that college experience everyone seems to ramble on and on about. The people are great, the school is great, I love the campus, but I don’t like the education part. Which is the whole purpose of attending.
Sorry if this is extremely bleak and depressing, but I just feel the need to get the feelings out. Anyone have any stories to share or advice to give? Thank you for reading through all this. 
If you felt this way last year but your mood improved once you adjusted maybe you just don’t do too well with change and do much better once you have settled in. If so, you just have to weather out a couple of weeks and remind yourself of that fact. If you are not excite about the school part of school, maybe you should consider whether your choice of major isn’t something you are passionate about. Maybe you could consider what would excite you more.
The education part is hard, and going back in for a second year, you now know what to expect, hard hard work. You have to hang on to the belief that this education will make a difference in your life in the long run and not let go of the belief. You know that you adjust after a short time, so you know the feeling you have today, as uncomfortable as it is, will pass. Look forward and you will get to a happier place in your mind.
I remember specifically at the start of my sophomore year in college feeling very anxious and unexcited about starting second year again. I had spent the previous summer in my hometown, and I just didn’t want to go back to school. It came as a surprised because I was living with a group of friends I had made in my first year, and I wasn’t expecting to feel that way again. It happens, and there’s nothing wrong with it. For me, it went away as soon as I got busy at school again. There’s nothing wrong with feeling unexcited about starting school again. Classes are generally not fun =D
I would recommend you just keep yourself busy. Perhaps you and your roommate can celebrate moving into your new apartment with a fun night out (or in, depending on your preference). Have faith that the feelings will pass as you settle in at school again and keep busy with friends and school.
It’s also perfectly okay to not be excited about classes. Studying and taking exams and doing homework are all generally not fun, and everyone has periods where they are just unmotivated in their classes. Perhaps, this year you can make it your goal to find an internship, job, or volunteering experience in your field (something related, however tangentially, to what you want to do as a career). Maybe keeping your eyes on why you are getting the degree will give you some motivation to do well in your classes because you need the degree for whatever you want to do as a career. College is not necessarily all about classes. You can get valuable experience by working, volunteering, or doing research, among many other things.
I remember after I graduated from college, my mom would tell stories about how she could time the entire school year by when my siblings and I would complain about our classes. We all did it at around the same times throughout the year, and right around junior year, we would apparently all complain about how we hated our majors =D Everyone hates school at some point. You just have to remember why you’re there, buckle down, and get through it. Make sure you continue doing fun things throughout the year to keep yourself sane!
my second year started a month ago and i was feeling pretty down (mostly because of a guy) and now that im (sort of) over that, some of my classes are starting to bum me out (one professor is really anal and it’s a morning class and i would much rather sleep in than go to class, another professor complains all the time and lectures out of a powerpoint). i go to community college so i cant help you much with homesickness, but hanging out with a close friend of mine has really helped. just meeting old classmates in between classes and chatting and being silly. try to surround yourself with people who you genuinely like being around (my mistake was trying to be around that guy i mentioned, but in reality i was left feeling drained). go out and party, go visit your college town. go look at what courses you’re gonna take in the future and your major preparation, look up grad schools if you want to go there, or look up requirements for any jobs you’re interested post-college so that you can get motivated about the future. i was really looking forward to the classes im currently taking, but thanks to the professors it has been pretty underwhelming. i think i got spoiled with really great professors my first year. but if you really want to have that educational spark back, i suggest maybe reading or doing some independent study on whatever courses you’re taking. try to learn beyond what you’re learning in class. do some extra reading on stuff that genuinely interests you. go binge watch a funny show on netflix if you want. or go to office hours and chat with your professors about the subject you’re learning about to have some perspective about it to perhaps motivate you again. homework and tests are always going to be boring. going to lecture can be boring. it sucks. it’s a part of the college experience. you’re not missing out, you’re living it.
I think sophomore year can in some ways be the most stressful. You have have none of the newness of being a freshman. As a freshman you are a bit coddled. There are programs galore to make sure you know where to go, what to do, social events etc. As a sophomore your supposed to know these things. As a freshman many students regardless of major are taking many of the same courses, as a sophomore you begin to divide off into your various majors. The biggest difference is the feeling of being in the middle of a tunnel. Your losing connection to the life before college but the end seems very far away. The biggest advice I’d give is keep up. It’s too easy to let yourself fall behind. By junior year you’ll still be in the tunnel but you’ll know your heading towards the other side. Your classes will be more interesting and likely smaller as you get into the meat of your major. This is the year to drag yourself out of bed, to the library (or where ever you prefer to study), go to class (do NOT convince yourself this isn’t necessary) and enjoy the benefits of not being a freshman. Good luck!
Unless one lives in a cupboard under the stairs, getting depressed at the end of the summer about going back to school is normal. Just give it time and it will work itself out.