Stuck in the middle

Ever been stuck in the middle seat during an outrageously long car trip? You’re squished between fellow passengers, rear end falling asleep, peripheral vision limited, making it hard to tell whether it’s night or day.\nYou’re the middle passenger. You’re a post-sophomore. Having just finished your second year, you’re at the halfway point. Behind you is a new crop of pre-froshes eager for their first crack at the madness we call college, and in front of you are graduating seniors who talk about internships, prestigious firms, grad school and mom and dad’s basement. They have plans. They have futures. So where are you going?\nIt’s like living in a pack of lemmings, animals so notoriously clueless that whole groups of them have been known to hurl themselves over a cliff. At this juncture in your college education, you watch all of the lemmings in front of you “take the plunge,” so to speak, and wonder if it will all be worth it in the end. At least from this perspective, you get a chance to watch your predecessors, and, should you encounter them after they have crossed into the real world, to ask them, “Did it hurt?”\nFast forward ten years. Where will you be? Will you be running a multi-gajillion dollar corporation? Or will you be living in a cardboard box on the side of the road? For me, the answer usually involves the cardboard box, and although I would like to say that I have come to terms with that fact, the uncertainty surrounding this whole future thing is honestly kind of scary.\nThankfully, after making the transition from “grasshopper” to upperclassman, we still have a few years left to figure things out. Well, at least that’s what we hope. But in the grand scheme of things, two years can go quicker than some of the less interesting lecture classes on campus. \nTruthfully, there is not a lot you can do to change your situation as a post-sophomore, which can be both good and bad news. What’s left, then, but to grin and bear the uncertainty, and to enjoy the last half of your college experience? After two years, you have become a seasoned pro at being an IU student, and there is no reason that the next two years shouldn’t be the best of your life. \nNor is there any reason it should stop there. Sure, life after college may seem intimidating, but remember how terrified you were as an incoming freshman? Look how well that turned out. It’s a crazy notion, but it might just be possible: maybe life doesn’t have to end after college.