Sophomore summer is not merely a product of its actual greatness but the result of your own expectations. It is also the result of your own perseverance, bordering on stubbornness, to not see its flaws. Like most things in life, sophomore summer is exactly what you make of it. Spending all of your time at Dartmouth believing that sophomore summer will be the apex of your Dartmouth experience, the so-called “best term,” only sets you up for disappointment, and frankly, it’s disheartening to see.
As students meander through the many highs and lows of their first two years at Dartmouth, they are told that they may look forward to a light at the end of the tunnel. Sophomore summer is that light. If Green Key weekend is a holiday for hedonism, sophomore summer is the hedonist’s religious retreat. It is a necessary experience, too. With only your class on campus, opportunities arise to socialize with new people, grow closer with the friends you have, explore different parts of the Upper Valley, and embrace the child-like wonder that was sapped out of you after spending two bleak winter terms in Hanover. Certainly, you’re taking courses, but in spirit it’s not school, it’s summer camp. Many students opt to take only two courses, or perhaps three but with one layup that they rarely attend. Fundamentally, sophomore summer allows students to rethink the way in which they view Dartmouth, transforming Hanover into a haven.
During sophomore summer, students embrace campus community to an extent never before witnessed. The typically face-timey phrase “we should grab a meal sometime” is said with sincerity, and the small campus populace guarantees that, no matter where you go, you’ll see a familiar face. It is unsurprising, then, that students so often declare this summer the happiest time of their Dartmouth experience. Instead of isolating themselves on 3FB, students can be found doing their readings on the docks, surrounded by friends and soaking up the New Hampshire sun—that is, when it’s shining. It’s been raining almost every week since we’ve been here, and, astonishingly, hardly anyone has been complaining. Being rained in seems to give students an even better excuse to play that afternoon game of pong.
There is no reason to confine this optimistic attitude to the fleeting ten weeks of summer term. Upon completing sophomore year, you have another two years left at Dartmouth. To think you are the “happiest, most fun” version of yourself for just a fraction of your time at the College is doing yourself, and your collegiate experience, a grave disservice.
Instead of hereafter relegating ourselves to living in the past, spending our junior and senior years wanting to “run 23X back,” we should learn from the freedom and positivity that we have found in sophomore summer. We should take it with us for the rest of our time here. By prioritizing the people we love and the things we enjoy doing, we can turn even the bleakest January days in Hanover into enlivening adventures.
As this summer term in Hanover draws to a close, students will likely go out to the river as much as possible, curate the perfect “photo dumps” for their Instagrams, attend as many impromptu picnics as they can, and—to make matters even better—ace their finals (that is, if they have any).
So, go on. Enjoy your sunset hikes, breakfasts at Lou’s without having to wait for a table, and pick-up pickleball games. And yes, enjoy your newfound carefree persona. I just want to remind you that sophomore summer should not be the apex and thus the end of the great Dartmouth Experience. Instead, try to think of it as a new beginning.
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