There's nothing better than coming back to live with your best friends after two months of seeing them way less than you're used to. But there's also nothing worse than burnt dining hall pasta or having to sit on the stairs because your lecture hall is too crowded.
1. Everyone goes to class and everything is packed
People will get lazy soon enough, but for now, you'll have to cram yourself between two strangers' sweaty arms in a room that smells like body odor and Axe Body Spray. At Rutgers, the buses are impossible to catch if you aren't willing to deck four people to earn two square inches between the window and another person. And at probably every university, if you aren't to class an hour early you'll find yourself squinting to read the board from the back corner of the lecture hall.
2. People bother looking nice for class and suddenly you're very aware of the pizza sauce stain on your sweatpants
Once midterms hit, I think everyone comes to the consensus that we're tired and sad and anything form-fitting would be too much to process for the duration of the semester. At finals, nobody's eyes can even register articles of clothing anymore because they've been staring at books and laptop screens day and night. But the beginning of the semester means sundresses, sandals, and matching clothes. Which is cute and great and good for you for trying, but wearing non-sneakers to my four-hour standing-only lab doesn't appeal to me even now.
3. You aren't used to sitting still for an hour and twenty minutes straight
Getting back into the swing of focusing on anything for more than a minute is harder than you'd expect. Your leg bounces, you're looking all around the room, you can't stop checking the clock, and you haven't heard the last twenty minutes of your lecture because you were silently giving your opinions to the girl online shopping in the row in front of you.
4. You print all your syllabuses and realize you're going to live in the library
Seeing all your papers, assignments, homework, and exams laid out is daunting, to say the least. Laying them out in your calendar and seeing all the stressful stuff clump up together also makes it much, much worse. It looks like you might not see your friends again until winter break.
5. You don't know your classes' customs or standards yet
Are you getting a zero for the day if you're running a minute late, or will this TA understand? How much time will the homework take? What's the best way to study for each class? Are your professors good at explaining things? The fear of taking a W looms over you as you try to adapt as fast as possible to this brand new schedule full of brand new people and brand new expectations. Now's the time to find the smart kids, make them laugh, and reel them into a study group with you but this is easier said than done.
6. Your exams seem so so far away
But they're not. They're sneaking up on you, you just refuse to know it.
7. It takes 20 minutes for a treadmill to open up
Everyone has resolved to be better this semester. Like New Year's Day, the first few weeks of the semester have everyone hitting the gym and taking up all the equipment. This won't last, but it's definitely harder to drag yourself there if you know you'll have to wait around.
8. You haven't chugged coffee like this in months and you're freaked out about your arm twitch
It's nice that caffeine has an effect on you again after using it so much it became useless when you really needed it (finals). However, you forgot how weird your heartbeat gets when you drink too much espresso and you really don't like the way the nerve in your eye is freaking out while you're trying to have a professional conversation with your professor. Is your body going to shut down? Probably.
9. You miss your mom
You got used to seeing your parents more often over the summer, and leaving them again is bitter-sweet. How was your dad's day at work? What did your mom make for dinner tonight? How was your little brother's first day of high school? Even when you love school, it can be kind of sad to miss out on big things happening at home.
10. You're really sad that you're one semester closer to graduating
:( Real life is coming at us faster and faster. Maybe come next semester, we'll be a little more ready for it.
