Sophomore Slump

Sophomore year of college was my least favorite. The newness of freshman year was gone, the anticipation of graduation and the future that would come for juniors and seniors wasn't there yet. I hated my major. I didn't want to get out of bed. Many days, I didn't. I had my lowest GPA of my entire educational career during my sophomore year.

In sports, when a rookie goes into a slide in his/her second year, they call it the "sophomore slump." Some even use that term to describe my experience during college. I would like to apply it to the second year of teaching as well.

While this year is going well, the newness and energy of my first year is just not there. I think most schools do a good job of supporting first year teachers, but when the second year rolls around, some are less intentional about providing support. Folks think you are capable because you've done this already. Instead of feeling capable because I have a year under my belt, I think I am just more aware of all that I'm lacking.

I am hanging on to the idea that it is still early in the year. As a family, we are adjusting to the work load and expectations of a new grade. I am still laying the foundation for the rest of the year with my students, reviewing basic skills and learning new names. I trust the "slumpiness" will abate once second quarter is rolling along.

For the love of....

I read an article the other day in a magazine about the author, Meg Cabot. It referenced something from her blog here. The question she was asked is why she studied art in college when she liked writing so much. She says, in essence, that someone told her not to because her love of writing would die in a college writing program. (She adds that, instead, her love of art was sucked out of her.)

When I was growing up, I always thought I would be a teacher. By high school I had decided that I wanted to teach music. A couple years into college, I didn't want anything to do with music. I changed my major and moved as far away from music as I could.

What is that about? What is it about college that sucks the love and life out of a passion? Does it only happen in the arts, or does it happen in other areas as well? How does a young person discern what passions should remain hobbies and what ones could be turned into a career?