Beating the Sophomore Slump

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”4/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IMG_1560.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][cs_text]For many students and athletes alike, the infamous sophomore slump can be a very real thing. And it makes sense: coming out of your freshman year when everything is new and exciting, your ability to match or exceed the quality of your first-year performance and experiences may fall short as the novelty of college dwindles. While it seems easy enough to come back to campus full of great resolve after having two of the best semesters that you certainly had your freshman year, it’s difficult for some to get back in the groove without the excitement of unfamiliarity. For me this semester, however, I am very glad to say that this has not been the case; this year – as characterized by the first month – has been fantastic! Perhaps I haven’t beat the sophomore slump, but rather avoided it altogether. And though I certainly don’t have any sort of cure-all remedy to keep the good times rolling, I want to give y’all a couple updates of some of the changes that have made the first month back on campus so great.

I love my 8:00AM’s. This is certainly not going to be a popular opinion, but I’ve been very happy with my decision to schedule classes beginning at either 8:00AM or 8:30AM four of five days a week. Although I was definitely a little worried coming in about my ability to get myself out of bed, beyond the fifteen-minute period of self-hatred I experience as my alarm goes off, I’ve really enjoyed having the whole day ahead of myself. And coming off my recent, somewhat polar switch of engineering majors from Computer Science/Business Administration (CSBA) to Chemical Engineering, I’ve also enjoyed the freshness of the new content of my classes.

It’s football season. Good news: the novelty of the gameday experience has yet to wear off. Even better news: it likely never will. Though this doesn’t mark that significant of a change from freshman year, gamedays are back better than ever. What is slightly different this year, however, is that the Trojans are projected to be a top-tier team with a shot at a national title – and their back-to-back home wins through the first two weeks have shown us why. Good team, great sport, unforgettable times.

There’s always more LA to see. Again, perhaps this is not the most significant change since freshman year, but weekend trips around the greater Los Angeles areas have continued to be among my favorite college hobbies. This year, I’ve ventured over to the Bronson Caves in Griffith Park where the 1960s Batman television series was filmed, explored some of the city’s underground tunnels beneath the LA County Hall of Records, and have taken several day-trips to Santa Monica, Malibu and Manhattan Beach. Check out my photos above and below.

With all these things going on, it’s definitely been a busy, but rewarding semester thus far. And although it may very well be too early to claim that the sophomore slump has, in fact, been avoided, with the long-list of exciting things going on around campus – in spite of having enough schoolwork piling up to keep me busy for weeks to come – I’m not too worried about any of USC’s novelty wearing away.

Fight on!

[/cs_text][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IMG_1603.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]About the Author[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”circle” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Tim-Marino.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”#https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/tim/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”popover” info_place=”bottom” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”Tim Chemical Engineering ’20”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-center”]Tim is a sophomore studying CHE. Click above to find out more.[/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”@thmarino27″ type=”instagram” link_enabled=”true” link_url=”#” link_title=”@thmarino27″ link_new_tab=”true” style=”font-size:18px;”]@thmarino27[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][x_gap size=”100px”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]Check it Out[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/43C0116200000578-4840696-image-a-1_1504189891896.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/biomedical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/chemical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]Chemical Engineering[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/los-angeles_1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]LA Life[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/USC-campus-Hahn-plaza.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]USC Campus Faves[/x_button][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column bg_color=”hsla(0, 27%, 74%, 0.03)” fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-bottom” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 96%, 23%);”]More From Viterbi Students[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”” category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”2″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”4″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]