As always, Winter Break came slowly but passed quickly, and now, it’s back to school to start the second semester. For most of us, that means begrudgingly setting alarm clocks and checking up on how much our books are going to cost (far too expensive as always, of course).

However, coming back to school isn’t all bad. During the break, we come to miss the newfound friendships we’ve made, and now that we’re back, all our friends are conveniently located on the same campus.

Aside from the advantage of the social proximity, returning to school after a month’s vacation can spark the “back-to-school blues.” You know the feeling – It’s the dread that ignites as the realization of partaking in actual school occurs (getting up for morning classes, struggling to stay awake and take notes, later trying to re-read those notes for studying purposes, exams).

Following are 7 things you could be doing instead of focusing on those back-to-school blues:

1) Binge-watch: You know you’re going to do it anyways, so you might as well log into your Hulu or Netflix account (or maybe Amazon Prime – there are no streaming-type discriminations in this article) and watch all 60 episodes of that show you’ve already seen three times. Mindless watching might help evade that back-to-school stress. At the very least, binge-watching will help your dread-procrastination.

2) Retail therapy: Remember Back-to-School shopping? When we were kids, we would always stock up on new crayons, pencils, paper, and cute outfits, but as college kids at UNC-Pembroke, our back-to-school shopping entails stopping at Wal-Mart to stock up on all the snacks and laundry detergent our debit cards can handle. Pencils and paper? Not necessary – we’ll find some sort of marker in the bottom of our backpacks to use.

3) Treat yourself: A new semester means a new cycle of Brave’s Bucks for our meal plans. So, treat yourself! Whether your vice be Starbucks coffee, Einstein’s bagels, or (new for Pembroke) Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, start the semester off right by avoiding worrying about upcoming assignments and indulge in your choice of guilty pleasure (the gym will also be waiting for your arrival after your New Year’s resolution, so don’t think twice about the calorie count).

4) Reunite with friends: Here’s a thought – remember those friends you missed during the break? Text them, meet up, and start all those “how was your vacation, mine was great,” conversations. You could combine this tip with the first tip listed and binge-watch a show together with your friends (although, you do run the risk of losing out in choice-of-show).

5) Visit the Hawk’s Nest: Okay, so you met up with friends and they weren’t so keen on the idea of staying cooped up inside to watch TV. Surprisingly, there are other options of college activities. Grab your Brave’s card, some spare change, and head over to the Hawk’s Nest in the University Center where you can bowl, shoot pool, play ping-pong, or Foosball together. There may be no better stress relief than friendly competition.

6) Join a new club: The new semester may seem daunting, not only because school naturally incites pressure to do well, but also because a new semester means new professors, classmates, and material. Embrace the new. Try to join a new club on campus and widen your web of social interactions and experience. Do you enjoy writing? Check us out at the Odyssey Online!

7) Log on to Blackboard: Instead of worrying about the new semester, why not get a jump on what’s to come by logging on to Blackboard and downloading your classes syllabi? Also, if you’ve already bought your books, open and flip through them.

Then, close those books. Log off of Blackboard, and go back to procrastinating the semester like you were doing earlier. It’s only Syllabus Week, after all. We aren’t expecting any actual school work just yet.