As I've detailed in a past article, for some of us break is nearly over and school is on the horizon. For others, school is already here. Whatever the case, Christmas break is nearly or is already over. We’ve had our rest, shut off our brains for a while, and got to socialize and catch up on all the things we’ve been missing for a while. Now it’s time to get back to business; these are three back to school struggles every student knows (as told by GIFs).
Adjusting to a New Sleep Schedule
Admit it, you’ve not felt one bit guilty about going to sleep 3 AM every night. It’s vacation, you don’t have to wake up for anything! Your brain has been oh-so thankful for the extra R&R, but now that period of bliss is nothing but a nice memory.
Now you’ll have to get used to waking up at 8 AM, but your brain won’t get the memo until halfway through the semester. Being grumpy is and sleepy the first few weeks is common, so you’re not alone there. Chances are you'll probably nod off during class and have to shake yourself out of it.
Now sleep is a sacred pastime, something so precious to you that a minute of it cannot be wasted. You'll try going to sleep early, but to no avail. Your brain and body still think now is a good time to think about that funny Instagram post you saw two weeks ago. And when someone does have the gall to wake you up, you may spout a line like....
Doing Schoolwork Again
After a number of weeks consisting of 100+ hours of Netflix, it’s a miracle you still know how to write your name! But now you’re going to need a whole lot more than that. After many, many days of not even holding a pen/pencil, you’re going to have to learn to write coherent sentences, paragraphs, and even whole papers. Oh the horror.
Compared to the grand amount of leisure over the past few weeks, the work is going to hit you like a brick. Even signing up the class on BlackBoard and/or signing the silibi is going to seem like a lot. Sure, you'll get used to it eventually, but right now this is so not okay. It's almost ironic how we pay to go to college and have to do work like some kind of reverse paradox of a job.
Finding Your Friends
You and your mates have been texting all through the break, saying how much you miss each other and tried to make plans to meet up that never worked out. Now you all are going to congregate at the place you always run into each other; school. You both have the same class at the same time with the same professor. You open the door, expecting them there and... They're not there.
Where could they be? Was there a typo somewhere in the texts you exchanged? Are they sick? Abducted by aliens? Who knows, really. It is college, so you're not actually required to go to any classes. That doesn't make you less confused though.
You find a few people you know as acquaintances in the lounge, but still no friends. And just as soon as you give up on looking, one of them calls your name from across the hall. Found: friend. So don't fret; your real friends will find you.
There are many more unsung struggles we, as students, go through. These are merely three (in addition to the ones I've already spoken about). But at the end of the day, this is what we put ourselves through for the sake of that degree. Now, when was bedtime again?
