That's a tall order. I drove up from Boston (fine, yes, after tweeting "13X bound!" and a Mayfair-filtered picture of my stuffed car) with extraordinarily high hopes for this term. I'm living off-campus with three freshman floormates. I somehow hit the jackpot and found three classes that not only filled distribs but also seemed interesting. I was finally going to discover the outdoorsy side I'd been imagining ever I since I pushed submit on my early decision application.
The lore of sophomore summer is passed down from admissions officers and UGAs alike. The term's fun-filled reputation remained pristine even after Rolling Stone's expos, as the magazine threw DOC First-Year trips under the bus yet didn't touch upon the X terms. Last summer, we stalked the '14s' muploads and enviously watched as they completed their bucket lists. When we migrated north this June, we had to make extra room in the trunk for our heavy expectations.
Two words bubble up each time you ask someone about his or her sophomore summer expectations: Camp Dartmouth.
"Reputation-wise, you characterize it as good weather, outdoor activities and lots of free time," Mojin Chen '15 said.
This camp comparison makes perfect sense we're right by a beautiful river and have magnificent day hikes at our disposal. But the reputation of sophomore summer extends beyond hot weather and a deep-seated desire to run back that color war victory from our camp glory days. This summer is the first at Dartmouth for many, and by the end of sophomore year, this newness may feel like a fresh way to break patterns and explore new activities.
But how does coming to Dartmouth with these expectations change the actual experience of a term?
Undergraduate dean June Chu said excitement about sophomore summer sometimes stems from the beautiful weather, classes in new fields and a chance to try leadership positions in organizations and Greek house. Chu said she cautioned students to keep expectations in check.
"While it's summer and beautiful, it's still Dartmouth," Chu said.
For Deby Guzman-Buchness '15, it was meeting new people that built up this summer. A rainy June followed by a humid July, however, meant that students spent time during summer's earlier weeks inside, literally and figuratively clouding some of our more optimistic sophomore summer aspirations.
"If there are people in the library, I don't want to interrupt them," Guzman-Buchness said. "A large chunk of meeting people comes out of doing activities."
Yet sophomores have found new experiences despite the regular academic classes and the less-than-pristine weather, especially after moving out of College housing for the first time.
Molly Chodakewitz '15, who lives off-campus this term, said her housemates have weekly dinners, sharing stories over fried rice or macaroni and cheese.
Last week, Guzman-Buchness came home to find several members of this fall's Lodj Croo siting in her off-campus apartment, playing cards.
"There's nothing like coming home to a full house," she said. "This has this really nice energy, it feels like the freshman floor."
High expectations inevitably color our perceptions of the term. Though unrealistic dreams of 13X glory can make the 10 summer weeks feel tame, for some, high expectations benefit a term's outcome.
"I'm challenging myself to say yes to more things," Chodakewitz said. "If people are blitzing out going to the Lodj for dinner, I'll go. Having expectations forces me to be accountable."
Some '15s had more foresight than I did they tempered steep sophomore summer lore with realistic expectations of the weeks ahead.
Chen said he knew 13X would be a busier term due to corporate recruiting and his Econ 26 class, notorious for its frequent problem sets and cold calls in class.
Cody Bell '15 said he applied tough lessons from freshman year to his mentality entering 13X. At the beginning of his freshman year, he expected nothing but amazing classes and immediate connections.
"That expectation led me to not having a great year I thought everyone else was having a perfect time," he said. "Why wasn't I?"
For the summer, then, he tried to temper his expectations and avoid the hype.
"Even though I'm taking the normal course load and still doing the same activities, I have more time in the day," he said. "It's been a great term so far because I went into it without the idea that everything was going to be magical and amazing."
Chu said that if a student is disappointed that expectations haven't been fulfilled, she asks him or her to reflect on the experience's realities.
"I don't view any experience as a mistake or a regret," she said. "It's a learning experience. If your expectations are high because friends recommended you take these classes or do these things, you should look for other recommendations as well in the future."
Guzman-Buchness said she expects '15s to approach the final two weeks of term with a positive outlook.
"In a 10-week term, two weeks is a lot of time," Guzman-Buchness said. "I can still discover new things about sophomore summer."
And though Hanover has the uncanny ability to speed up the weeks, with summer comes more daylight hours. There's more time to fit in social activities, coursework or simply read and relax on a porch.
I wonder if I'll look back on sophomore summer and replace heavy expectations with golden-tinted memories. The bubble that surrounds the College may soon seal behind my packed-up car, leaving within the actual sophomore summer experience. Maybe your expectations for 13X overshot reality, or maybe you used high expectations to make these last two months extraordinary, but with two weeks left, we have hot afternoons and clear nights to check off your last bucket-list boxes.
