In high school, junior year is the year where you finally start to feel like an upperclassman- you have two years under your belt, yet you still don’t have to stress out entirely over your future.

I am starting to realize now that just like in high school, something shifts when you move onto your junior year in college. Honestly, as I work my way through my first semester of my junior year, I am noticing how awkward this third year of college truly is.

During my freshmen and sophomore year, the mindset that I was in school and could essentially focus solely on academics was still appropriate. In other words, it seemed completely reasonable that during my first two years here at Iona, my sole occupation was “student”.

Now, I am stuck between considering myself simply as a student or as someone who is trying to make the transition to the real world. Senior year is obviously the goliath of figuring out what you are going to do after you graduate, and after 16 years of school, it is undoubtedly a weird transition. However, that’s expected for your senior year in college- that is what it is known for. Junior year, on the other hand, is understatedly a scary time too, something that I do not think people talk about enough.

During this first semester so far, I am already realizing my sole focus cannot be on academics, nor do I want it to be. I am interning this semester, and through my experience so far I am slowly adjusting to the image of myself working in the real world.

School, however stressful and frustrating it may be at times, provides a structured routine where you do not have to worry about what you will be doing next year- you already know. Sixteen years of this structured routine makes the idea of not being in school slightly scary. The fact that my year will not revolve around two semesters and a summer break is an intimidating concept, and while I’m not expected to jump into this unknown world tomorrow, it is something that I will now be thinking about until I graduate.

Because I know I am not going to graduate school after Iona, my junior year is the transitional period between my first two years of college and my last. It is such a weird mix of different stages of life—while I am still taking general education courses, I am interning and seriously thinking about what career path I want to go down once I graduate.

While the changes that I am facing now (or see in the near future) seem a lot scarier and bigger than what I was experiencing in high school, the current changes I am experiencing are also really new and exciting. Because I do not have to think completely realistically about my transition to the real world just yet, I can optimistically imagine a life after graduation where the possibilities are endless.

Therefore, while I am struggling to get a grasp of what is expected for my junior year, I can already tell that this awkward third year of college will be a time for dreaming, freaking out about my future and taking advantage of the time I have left at Iona.

To contact the Ionian’s Dana Ruby, email her at druby1@ gaels.iona.edu.