Going back to college... it is supposed to be exciting. It is easy to imagine what we see in the movies. You running up to your best friends hugging them and jumping up and down. Them helping your carry your boxes up to your new room and you both trying to fit your entire summer into an hour-long conversation. It all seems so exciting, there are even those super cute movie montages that make the 5-hour drive and the next 10 hours of unpacking look like a piece of cake. Even if you are not the kind of person to get caught up in these fantasies, it is often hard to acknowledge the fact that going back to school is a huge adjustment.
Whether you spent your summer at home working and being with family or taking that baby-step towards adulthood with an internship, summer is a whole different world. It is easy to feel as though you are living a double life. Summer can be spent with your friends from home. It can be spent with hardly any friends at all because working 40 to 50 hours a week does not allow for much friend time. It can be spent traveling with family or by yourself. It can be spent with new acquaintances at your new job. However you spend your summer, even if it is spent at summer school, it is completely different than the actual school year.
When you get back to the actual school year, it is important to remember that just like summer was different, this school year will be new and different as well. Your classes may be harder or more spread out. You might have to get a job. Your friends will have changed, new people are coming to your school, and you are all just a little bit closer to graduation.
So what are the best ways to deal with all of this? That is a question that cannot be answered with just a few tips and tricks or some blanket statements. For some, going back to school is really seamless and they don't feel a huge transition coming their way. For others, well, it is really hard. Coming back to school can make you question what you want and who you're friends with. It can make you want to change your major or drop your minor.
The point of all this is to acknowledge that coming back from summer can be hard. Check in with your friends, ask how they are doing. Most importantly, if you feel like you need to make a change this school year, then do it. Do not let things become routine and be discontent with your life. Make that change and figure out what is going to make you happy and healthy this year.
