Last year, I wrote a Day In The Life Of A Commuting College Freshman, and to keep the series going, I decided to write one for sophomore year. Since my schedule was different every day, I’m going to write what my schedule was like on a typical Tuesday in the Fall semester. Tuesdays were a lot more structured compared to the other days of the week because on the other days, I had a lot of time to be flexible with my schedule. Tuesdays were not the case.
Let’s get to it, then.
8:15 AM//Wake Up + Get Ready
On an ideal day, I would wake up at around 8:15. This got more difficult near the end of the semester, but for the most part, I was good at waking up at that time. I wrote an entire post about my college morning routine, so I won’t go into too much detail here. I pretty much just brush my teeth, get ready, and eat breakfast. I don’t like rushing in the morning. I prefer having a slow-paced morning where I can take my time waking up and getting ready for the day. My house is pretty much empty at this time because my brothers are at school, my mom is at the gym, and my dad is asleep, so I usually watch T.V while I eat breakfast.
Related – My College Morning Routine
9:00 AM//Get In Car
I try to get out of the house by 9:00 because the traffic is pretty much gone by then. Driving in metro-Atlanta at any time early in the morning usually entails a lot of traffic, so I do my best to avoid that. I almost always listen to an audiobook in the car, but I only listen to audiobooks that I have read before. I have this sneaking suspicion that if I listen to new books and something shocking happens, I will lose my focus and get in a car accident. In my first semester of sophomore year, I listened to the Sammy Keyes series and in my second semester, I listened to the Harry Potter series (I just finished the last audiobook).
9:20 AM//Board Train
When there isn’t traffic, it takes less than twenty minutes to get to the train station from my house. I always read on the train. It’s the reason I’ve been able to read so many books in college. I made this my designated reading time.
Related – 16 Ways To Make The Most Of Your College Commute
9:50 AM//Arrive At School
Once I arrive at school, I immediately get started on Wednesday’s homework. Since classes are every other day, I do the homework for the next session a day or two before. Tuesdays are busy class days for me, while I have a lot of time on Mondays and Wednesdays to finish homework and study, so I don’t do as much school work outside of class on Tuesdays.
11:00-11:50 AM//Cycling Class At Gym
After about an hour of homework, I head over to the gym to take a cycling class, which is basically the generic name for soul cycle. It was so painful the first few times I did it, but I did it so much in my sophomore year that I stopped feeling sore. This class makes you very sweaty, no matter how much you do it. It’s an amazing workout, but I recommend you take it more than once before giving up on it. After my first class, I was adamant that I would never take that class again, but look at me now. It was half cycling and half weightlifting, so I was able to do cardio and weightlifting in one class. It was a good balance.
Related – A Practical Guide To Working Out Regularly In College
12:00-1:00 PM//Lunch
After changing and wiping off all the sweat, I head to a restaurant to grab lunch before my first class. Most of the time, I would get the five dollar meal of the day from Subway because Tuesdays had my favorite sandwich. The meal comes with a drink and chips or 2 cookies, so the meal filled me up for the rest of the day. (I also got my daily servings of vegetables)
After buying lunch, I head to the library to eat and watch Netflix. After lunch, I study a bit before heading to my first class.
1:00-2:15//Psychopathology & Abnormal Psychology
My first class for the day! I absolutely loved this class and I actually enjoyed the group work. We were assigned into groups at the beginning of the semester and we stayed in those same groups whenever we did case studies or team quizzes. My group was awesome and they did their work, so we became good friends/aquaintances.
2:30 – 3:45 PM//Biology II
After Abnormal Psychology, I had to walk to the other side of campus to get to my Biology II class. My friend told me that the walk between those two buildings was impossible, but I was able to get to my Bio class on time easily.
I skipped Biology I because I took AP Bio in high school, but I still needed a Bio II credit. The second class is macrobiology, so it focuses on things like the environment, natural selections, human organs, instead of organelles and mitosis. I found this class pretty easy. It was lecture-based, but my professor was a good teacher, so it wasn’t so bad.
3:45- 4:30 PM//Break
After three straight hours of classes, I need a break. I usually hang out in a student lounge or at the library. I either read a book, read blogs on my laptop, or watch Netflix or YouTube videos. I try to decompress before another two and a half hours of class.
4:30-7:00 PM//American Sign Language 2
Instead of taking this class twice a week, I took it once a week on Tuesdays because I needed to fill a lab in on Thursdays. This class was a lot of fun, as most language classes are in my opinion. The professor was nice and so were the other students. It was usually dark by the time the class ended, which worried my mom to no end (walking to the train station in the city at night and all that). I actually preferred finishing my classes at the end of the day because it forced me to work out and finish my homework and studying on campus.
7:00 PM//Head Home
The walk to the train station wasn’t that bad because there were people around and I knew how to walk around downtown without getting lost. My commute home was the same as my commute to school. I would read on the train and listen to audiobooks in the car. The drive home was always great because it wasn’t during rush hour like it was in my Freshman year. I would arrive home quickly instead of spending 30-45 minutes in the car.
7:50 PM//Arrive Home & Eat Dinner
The first thing I’d do when I got home was run around with Mysoon because he went to sleep early every night and wanted to play with me. After that, I would eat dinner. This is one thing I’ll miss when I live on my own. Having food ready without having to prepare it myself.
8:45 PM//Shower
I showered every other day. During sophomore year, I would shower immediately after dinner then change into comfortable clothes.
9:15 – 11:00 PM//Break
The greatest part about my schedule was that I didn’t have to even think about school when I got home. At that point, I had finished the homework for my first class on Wednesday, if not for both. I had a lot of free time on Wednesdays to study, so I didn’t have to worry about doing anything at home. I was able to take truly intentional breaks every day instead of using breaks as a form of procrastination. It was wonderful.
11:00 PM//Get Ready For Bed
I’ve already written a whole post on my evening routine, which I’ll link below. After getting ready for bed and saying goodnight to everyone(which takes a while considering I live with six other people), I lay in bed and read my Kindle before I fall asleep. I use “blue shade” mode to prevent the tablet light from disrupting my sleep cycle.
Related – My College Evening Routine
12:00 PM//Go To Sleep
I am a strong believer in the importance of sleep. I can function on less than seven hours of sleep, but I don’t want to, which is why I try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every day. It’s wonderful.
So that was my day in the life from Sophomore year. I’m sorry about switching between past and present tense. Hopefully, it wasn’t too annoying. If you haven’t yet, check out last year’s “Day In My Life” post. Until next time.
Related – A Day In The Life Of A College Freshman
Photo Credits – Cindy Sanders
What was your schedule like in sophomore year? Was it as busy as mine?
Huh. I didn’t know psych students had it that easy. I mean, intutively- it makes sense that their schedules are like that- but damn.