If you’re like me, you love college and absolutely can’t wait to get back to late-night donut runs and trips to the beach. However, you also have that unending desire for your bed, your home, and your childhood friends. It’s hard to admit that you might not want to leave your hometown friends, and you might not want to go back to school sometimes. But when you start to think about all the things that you’re going to miss, just remember how excited you are to go back to the more independent, perhaps even more fun, half of your life. Here are four reasons why going back to school can stink, but also why you are counting down the days until you move in.
1. You can’t wait to tell all of your friends back at school all about your summer.
You love to hear all about your friends' summers, but let’s face it: you love to talk about yours even more. Nooo, no, no, it’s not a competition, but really…it is.
2. Talking about summer makes you realize just how over it really is.
Nothing gives you a slap in the face like reminiscing about summer, because that’s when you realize you’re actually talking in the past tense. Thinking about all those warm and sunny memories isn’t good for your emotions; you’re going to miss it more than ever. Remembering those “no shoes, no shirt, no problems” kind of days (to quote Mr. Kenny Chesney, one of the greatest) will probably physically break your heart in half. But just remember: after a few very long months of snow, cold, and ice, summer will be back before you know it.
3. Taking a break from the constant sibling-fighting and parent-nagging.
Even though summer provides some great family bonding time, you also won’t forget how annoyed you got when your little sister made you drive her around to countless places or how many times you have had to clean up after your little brothers because “they are just too young to know any better” (my brothers are 13 and nine…). As much as you’re going to miss them, you are on your way back to independence!
4. Time to leave your favorite things: home/mom/bed.
When you look back at your summer, you won’t actually remember cleaning up behind your brothers or driving your sister around, or the (multiple) times that dad makes a fool of himself. You’ll remember the family vacation you took up north, and the movie night sleepovers in the living room. As much as they bother you, you love them and you’ll never actually want to leave them, no matter what.
5. Hurting your heart when looking through your friends’ social media accounts.
Social media is the perfect way to stay up-to-date with what your friends are doing on a Friday night. The only part that sucks is that you’re not there with them… Looking through Instagram, you only wish that you were at that same party with your friend, having fun together instead of at your separate schools. Why can’t they just go to school with you?
6. Getting to see how happy your friends are when they are away at school.
As hard as it can be to watch your friends’ lives through a screen rather than living it with them, one of the best feelings is knowing that they are loving their lives right where they are at. Even though you can’t be with them, it is so awesome to know that they are happy. And you know you’ll get the full lowdown at your next reunion over winter break, so don’t worry one bit.
7. Leaving the people who you’ve seen almost every day for four months.
Four months is a seriously long time—that’s 123 days. Those 123 days were full of the people who you’ve spent countless nights with watching movies, having bonfires, boat rides, and ice cream dates. You thought things weren’t going to be the same after your year away at school, but it turns out that your friendship went absolutely nowhere, and it took about 1.2 seconds to get back to your old routine. And now, you have to start all over again. Get used to weekly FaceTime dates and random “I miss you” texts. Again, why can’t they just go to school with you?
8. Finally getting to see the people that you haven’t seen in four months.
The day, out of those 123, has finally come! You will be reunited with those people who you have missed the most. Your study partners, your futon-crashers, your dinner hall dates, and your best friends. It’s hard to go from living right next door to them, to not seeing them for four whole months. But guess what…the wait is over.
When all is said and done, the best way to cope with post-summer blues is to just remember how lucky you are that you have two places and two groups of people that you can call home.
“How lucky I am to have known somebody and something that saying goodbye to is so damned awful.” – Evans G. Valens
