Imagine spending almost every day for nine straight months with the same group of girls. You get so close to them, and learn all about their families, friends, likes and dislikes etc. You can’t imagine going a day without talking to and seeing at least one of them…and then summer hits, and you all go back to your respective hometowns. For some girls, it’s not so bad--maybe they have sisters from the same hometown that they’ve bonded with over the school year, or maybe they stayed in contact with a bunch of friends from home, or maybe they just come from a really cool hometown or are studying abroad, so their summers will pass in the blink of an eye. Me? I went back to The Shady 580 (a.k.a. Lawton, Okla.), with nothing to do but hope the time until August went by quickly. And that’s when the loneliness kicked in.

1. Denial

The first stage of grief is denial. This is also the first stage of MYSSS (Missing Your Sorority Sisters Syndrome). The move from your hometown to your college town in August was exciting and made you anxious. Moving back to your hometown after finals week is filled with relief that school is over but dread over the summer to come. You’re not the teen that moved out nine months ago, but you and your parents both know you’re not yet an adult (despite any fake IDs that might say otherwise). You hesitate to unpack because you tell yourself, "This is temporary. Three months will go by quickly--there’s no point in unpacking." Ah, the sweet smell of denial. You tell yourself that soon enough you’ll be back at college, with all your sisters and friends.

2. Anger

The first few weeks back home are uneventful. You’re still testing the waters to see how much more lenient your parents will be. Then you fall back into your high school routine. It’s all, "No, you can’t go to Walmart at 4 a.m., why can’t you go tomorrow morning?," and, "Why do you sleep all day?" You begin to feel 15 again and long for the freedom that college brings. It’s frustrating and you may or may not wander the house like an angsty teen (which you kinda are). Sulking isn’t a good look on anyone, so hopefully this stage goes by quickly.

3. Bargaining

You’re really desperate by now. You continuously scroll through your instagram feed, liking all the pictures your sisters post and living vicariously through all of their adventures across California, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and more. The most adventurous thing you’ve done all summer is wake up early enough (or just stay up late enough) to make it in time to get McDonald’s breakfast--and even then you were still wearing your pajamas. You start to make desperate promises like, "I promise I won’t complain about a single thing during recruitment, even if it’s 120 degrees and I haven’t slept in nine days," and, "I’ll make all As and won’t skip a single class this semester, even lectures." The most appalling? "I promise not to blow all my money on Starbucks and Chipotle and Whataburger." Like I said, you’re really desperate.

4. Depression

This is, of course much less serious than actual diagnosed clinical depression, but in the eyes of my mother, it still exhibits dangerous behavior. MYSSS depression includes staying in bed all day watching an entire series on Netflix and probably crying, crafting for your future little so much that the constant paint on your body is confused for tattoos, and wearing your letters around town, even when you look terrible, despite knowing that nobody else will understand their significance (no, that is not an upside down L that is a GAMMA).

5. Acceptance

It takes a long time to get to the fifth stage of MYSSS. This doesn’t mean you’re “okay” with the lack of your sorority sisters in your life, it just means that you have at least acknowledged that your life sucks without them and that they’re probably (at least according to social media) having a much better summer than you are.

The cure for MYSSS

There are many options for how to cure MYSSS. Text messaging, phone calls, Facetime/Skype, GroupMe, and social media are all great ways to keep in contact with your sorority sisters over summer to fend off MYSSS. Seeing your sisters face to face is always a better option though, so if possible see if any of your sisters live a few cities over and drive to see them and catch up on each other’s lives. The best cure for MYSSS, however, is August, when all your sisters rally back to your college town to face recruitment together.