As the end of the semester approaches, we all can’t wait to go home. Morale is low, but the reward, in the end, is worth it. Research has shown that mental breaks from school can help increase productivity, replenish attention, and encourage creativity. Summer can’t seem to get here fast enough.

1. Class.

Must I say more?

2. Stressing out about your GPA.

Give yourself a break from all the challenging work you’ve done this year- you survived.

3. Waking up early for your 7:30 o’clock class.

Nobody in college wants or has the energy to talk if it’s before 10 a.m.

4. Exams/Midterms/Finals.

Constantly being tested and forced to regurgitate what you’ve learned these past 15 weeks is a lot harder than it seems.

5. Group work.

Group work challenges all members of the team to be responsible for their work, but in college, it can make or break you.

6. Sharing the room with your roommate(s).

You’ll finally have the room to yourself. Privacy is needed.

7. The bland dining court food.

The food is always on rotation, and they serve the same things over and over again. When you first came to campus, you were excited to try every item on the menu, but after a year or more of this, it seems to be lackluster. Soon, you’ll be leaving campus, and nothing tastes better than home-cooked meals!

8. Racing to get to class on time.

You only have 10 minutes to get from where you are to the other side of campus. No big deal.

9. Trying to keep up your social life.

College demands that there is a balance between life and work, but most of the time it can feel like your work controls your life.

10. Trying to balance everything, and I mean everything on your plate.

There’s always a lot going on, but college somehow manages to make life unbearable at times. We often become overwhelmed with all that is required of us. Sometimes things just happen, and no matter how much you hate that it is happening, you have to keep going. Either you accelerate and work through it, or you eliminate what you can’t handle.

11. Paying to do your laundry per load.

Not only do we pay for tuition and a meal plan, but we also have to pay to do our laundry per load. Now when you get home, you don’t have to pay per load, but you do have to pay the utility bill associated with it.

12. Constantly pulling all-nighters.

If you think you have time, you really don’t. The stress of college is subtly making us all become insomniacs.

13. Not getting enough sleep.

Whoever said, “sleep is for the week” was so wrong- it’s for all of the summer.

14. Buying expensive textbooks.

You took the two-week temporary access code for granted; now you have to pay approximately $100-300 for a textbook we hardly use.

15. Not being in control of your schedule.

Over the summer, you have the freedom to do whatever you want when you want.

"Summertime is always the best of what might be." - Charles Bowden