Just a few short days ago you gave up sleep for drinking, and school for football -- two great sacrifices.

From the all night bus party on the way to Tuscaloosa, to the tailgate on Saturday, pretty much everything about this past weekend was perfect. You were on a bus for over 10 hours with your closest friends, brothers and sisters; you showed Tuscaloosa the real way to do college; you cheered on the Gators as they played a tough game in Bryant-Denny stadium; and, somehow, you survived it all.

As an experienced road tripper, I can tell you that the week after road trip is never fun. You feel nostalgic from the experience the moment the bus arrives in Gainesville and consider begging the bus driver -- who is awesome, by the way-- to turn around so you can do it all again. If you did road trip correctly, you will probably have a solid two day hangover that never seems to end. But never fear, I have the exact prescriptions for your roadtrip recovery. 

1. Continue to hydrate. Even though the weekend is long over, the physical stress from alcohol consumption and lack of sleep will continue to take a toll on your body. 

Prescription: Drink about twice as much as you normally would in order to retain proper hydration.

2. Rebuild your immune system. On any vacation, your body will be exposed to bacteria and elements that it is not used to. Road trip will especially put a strain on your immune system. Between the 10 hour bus ride, with an inadequate sink to wash your hands in, and the all day tailgating in a city other than your own, you are bound to have picked up a few illnesses or bacteria.

Prescription: Emergen-C and orange juice every day this week. 

3. Get back into your groove. One of the biggest mistakes that people make after road trip is dwelling on the weekend and forgetting about current issues. As college students, we have to be able to balance academics with free time. Roadtrip generally throws this balance out of whack.

My first year of road trip, I distinctly remember flipping through my pictures about a thousand times a day attempting to relive the memories. My only topic of conversation was road trip shenanigans. A week later, my second chemistry exam hit me like a bag of bricks. Do not get hit by a bag of bricks. 

Prescription: Revisit every syllabus to double check due dates, check your email diligently and attend every class.

4. Take Naps. A road trip sleep schedule is not a consistent sleep schedule, so when you return to Gainesville you need to utilize naps and early bedtimes. Consistency is key for a proper sleep schedule. 

Prescription: A two hour nap every day and at least eight hours of sleep at night. 

5. Relax this week. Along the same lines of getting some rest, relaxation is another important requirement for recovery. I promise that Midtown will survive without you while you recover from the weekend. If you did road trip correctly, you won't want to see the inside of a bar for at least a week.

Prescription: Take the weekdays off and reconvene at your favorite happy hour spot on Friday.

6. Start saving to go on the next road trip. With the 'Bama road trip happening so early in the semester, you have the opportunity to regain enough money, sobriety and dignity to go on the next road trip.

Prescription: Dust off your boots and make another bubbakeg because you have seven weeks until you do this all over again in Nashville.