1. Joy
The natural first reaction to realizing that the semester is winding down is to start a countdown until the day where homework and studying are a thing of the past. Envisioning summer vacation can make any student overflow with happiness when the closest thing you've had to vacation in the last couple of months is drowning in your own sweat while attempting to lounge in the ratchet chairs at the student rec pool.2. Terror
Anticipating a much needed break from the seemingly endless pile of schoolwork that is college may excite us at first… until we remember that in order to get to the promised land we have to make it through the time of year every student fears most: finals. It might be time to stop daydreaming about the awesome tan you're going to get, and start thinking about studying for that exam you have coming up way sooner than you thought. But, hey, maybe the thought of being free the second after you finish your last final will motivate you to do your best! Yeah, probably not.
3. Excitement
The best part about being home is seeing family and friends that you've missed while you were away at school. You get to catch up with your old friends and relive your high school glory days, and let's not forget about the thing every college student looks forward to the most: home cooked meals.
4. Depression
Reconnecting with old friends is great, don't get me wrong, but getting caught up in the excitement of seeing them might cause you to overlook the depression that will come along with the temporary loss of all your new college friends. Going from seeing them every single day to not seeing them at all for a whole three months can cause major separation anxiety.
5. Nostalgia
Thinking about how much you're going to miss being around all the familiar faces you're used to seeing every day leads to thinking about all the amazing, crazy, and maybe sometimes a little too crazy, times you had with them. Whether you're closing out your freshman year or your senior year, each new semester of college brings new experiences that you'll always remember. Except for that time you woke up barefoot and phoneless on a random bench near fraternity row; no one can remember what happened that night.
6. Post-FOMO
Reminiscing on all the good times is great, but realizing that the end of the semester is approaching rapidly can leave you wondering if you really did make the most of the college experience this year. Did you go out enough? Did you eat at all your favorite restaurants at least three times each? Did you spend too much time studying for a test only to get a grade lower than the actual number of hours you spent studying?
7. Determination
Once all the post-FOMO kicks in, you'll experience an intense wave of motivation to make the most out of the little time left of school. Going out way too much and neglecting your schoolwork to an unhealthy extent are common side effects of this newfound determination.
8. Panic
The realization that the school year is almost over is one thing, but realizing you have absolutely no time to accomplish everything you were so motivated to accomplish in stage seven is enough to send you into a state of panic. How are you supposed to study for finals, register for fall classes, pack up your entire dorm/apartment, and party enough to make up for every night you stayed in all year?!
9. Extreme Panic
If this year went by so fast, how fast will the rest of your time in college go by? Before you know it, you'll be graduating and looking for a real job and a real house. You'll also want to start looking for a husband or wife and maybe start a family because if you wait too long you'll end up old and alone and I think I just launched myself into an actual panic attack by putting these thoughts into words, so I'll just stop there.
10. Relief
By the time you go through the roller coaster of all ten stages, school will be over and your only worry in the world will be what SPF tanning oil to buy on the way to the beach.
