Summer means something totally different in college than it did in high school. In college, you’re leaving your best friends you’ve been around constantly for about nine months to go home for a straight three months. They’ll no longer be in the building over to make a late-night run to McDonald’s. They’re now hours away, and you might get to see them once a month. You may even get separation anxiety because you miss them so much! Rather in high school, you’re just a few minutes down the street from the people you used to see every day. In short, summer vacation in college is absolutely terrible.

1. Leaving campus

This is one of the hardest parts of going home — the goodbyes. You are forced to say goodbye to your best friends ever and not know when you will see them again! Tears are shed and huge hugs are given.

2. The drive home

The reality sets in. You and your best friends just went your separate ways to your respective homes. You won’t be able to see them tomorrow. Now, even more tears are shed, and you play the songs y’all always listened to.

3. Arriving home

You finally arrive home after a long drive to be greeted by your loving family and pets. It’s a wonderful feeling to finally be able to relax and not worry about school! You don’t have to study, do homework, wake up to an alarm, cook or worry about buying your own groceries. You are finally free.

4. Boredom strikes

About one week into summer, boredom begins to set in. You constantly sleep, watch Netflix and sit in silence wondering what to do. At school, you could just call one of your friends to come over or hang out with your roommate, but they’re no longer easily accessible. You now constantly text them in your group message because it’s the closest thing you have to hanging out with them. Maybe you'll even use this free time to get a job! (Maybe. Just maybe.)

5. The wait until fall semester begins

You accept the fate of summer vacation and just enjoy spending time with your family while you can! The best you can do is enjoy the times you see your friends over summer and impatiently wait for fall semester to begin; then you can see them again (74 days to be exact).