While "the tides are changing" is a fairly cliché metaphor in this case it is actually as much of a fact as it is a metaphor. As the summer season fades to fall the earth's axis changes it's rotation thus causing a change in the behavior of the ocean as well. While these events are happening outside of our atmosphere there are just as significant changes occurring within.
A hoard of five-year olds are responsible for many parent's tears as they trot off to kindergarten, awkward and acne-faced fourteen-year olds are hesitant as they take their first steps through the doors of high school, and then there are the nineteen-year olds eager to get back to the fantasy world of college and unprepared for what is notoriously known as the "Sophomore Slump." It's a term I've heard as often as "the freshman 15," and quite frankly I find it just as terrifying. Many would argue that since I am able to recognize the common ailment that occurs in second-year college students then I should be able to avoid it. While I hope that is the case I've come to realize that my fear in that silly term resides less in the fact that I will fall slave to it and more in the fact that those words connote an air of uncertainty that rings true for the year that lies ahead. "Sophomore Slump" lacks all specifics. It could refer to your academic work, your social life, or even something as mundane as your eating habits. I have no idea what it means, and that is the very nature of uncertainty.
I can't deny that I am eagerly awaiting this Friday morning when Lauren and I will bored US Airways flight 950 and begin our journey to Skidmore; but I am also feeling sadness in the fact that I must say goodbye to my mother as well as fear that I will be unable to embrace this uncertainty that is a very crucial part of not just the college experience, but life in general. Only so many pills and self-help books can help you until eventually you must face life and all it's scariness, challenges, and successes head-on. That's my goal for this year...instead of backing down from life I am going to immerse myself in it and rock it :) I hope you all can do the same. Oh and in case you didn't figure it out, THE BLOG IS BACK FROM SUMMER VACATION!
Love always,
Emmeline
