It’s that time of the year, again -- the bittersweet moment when summer ends.
It's time to put away the beach bag and bring out the backpack, because it's time to go back school!
1. The goodbye get-togethers begin. No matter how busy you are during the summer, you manage to make time for your friends. Sadly, the one hangout sesh that we all dread is the one where we say goodbye. There may be some frowns when it’s over, but what’s scarier is the realization that the goodbye get-together for you is any day, now.
2. Summer internships end. A summer internships is the last way any college student wants to spend the summer. While there are a few who genuinely enjoy their internship, most get tired of getting coffee and making trips to the mail room. However, aside from the tedious work, internships are a great experience that teaches you things you won;t learn in a classroom. As much as you’ll miss sitting in front of a computer, when you finish your last day of your internship, the first day of school is not far behind.
3. It's the month of August!
Many favor the month of May. It’s when finals start which only means one thing; summer is right around the corner. Initially, we think three to four months of summer vacation is a long time. Sadly, it's not. Losing track of the date is only one of the many effects of summer. You don’t realize the consequence of this until someone asks you when you go back to school and you take a look at your calendar and realize that it's August and you should have already started packing.
4. See you in a year, Lolla. Nothing screams summer more than the many music festivals that flood the Midwest, such as Lollapalooza, Country Thunder, Spring Awakening and Pitchfork. Spring Awakening usually gets the ball rolling and marks the beginning of the music festival season. Even if you don’t physically attend these events, you get a good idea of how they are, thanks to numerous lengthy Snapchat stories and pictures posted on social media. Keeping up with all these music festivals
can get a little exhausting, but it’s a major wake up call when you realize that the craze is over and the next major event is the beginning of fall semester.
5. Let the waterworks begin. It’s always nice to come home for the summer; when both you and your family are excited to reunite. Don’t be fooled by that welcome home dinner. It's only a matter of days before your family goes back to their normal routine that they followed while you were at school. Sooner or later, you and your family will act as if you moved back in. It isn’t until your family starts saying how much they’ll miss you and they try to spend every waking moment with you, that you realize your days in your comfy bed are numbered.
6. Back to school displays. Trips to Target and Walmart almost happen on the daily. However, there is always that one day where you step into the store to get the simplest item, but run into a huge problem -- the back to school section. This may be one of the rare occasions where you leave Target sad, because you realize summer is almost over.
7. Here comes Halloween. As with most college students, we are very familiar with procrastination. However, it seems as if that word was foreign to department stores because they whip out the Halloween decorations two months too early. As much as I love Halloween, I can wait until October to accept the fact that it is fall. We get it , summer is almost over, what’s the rush?
8. The ever so important check list. It’s only a matter of time until you acknowledge that it's almost time to go back to school. With this realization comes the famous white list of all the things you need for this upcoming school year. With the list comes a two step process: writing down everything you need, and spending hours in the store scavenging for everything on your list.
9. On the road, again. It's the moment we’ve all been waiting for -- getting in the car and heading to good ol’ Chambana. Packing your car with all of your stuff (most of which isn't needed) is only half of the fun. Get ready for the most exciting and scenic ride of your life -- if you love endless cornfields and windmills. Once you’ve arrived at campus, it’s as if you had never left. Welcome back!
10. You snooze, you lose. Setting your alarm for your first class on Monday is the ultimate goodbye to summer. While you may have made countless memories this summer, there are many more to come this school year. Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new year. Make the most of your time at school and good luck!
