We all know there's something different about beginning the second semester. Maybe it’s the blunt realization that the holidays are over, maybe it’s the cold weather, or maybe it’s the lack of sunshine. Whatever causes the change, campus feels vastly different in the spring, and the second semester has its own set of challenges and joys.

1. Getting to see your friends again

Your school friends are your support system and the guardians of your sanity. Being reunited with them is sweet, especially if you didn’t get to see many of them over break. Now that you’re with them, there are events to catch up on, stories to hear and coffee to be had.

2. Saying goodbye to your winter break schedule (or lack thereof)

The start of school means you have to learn how to say goodbye to sleeping in and move on from doing nothing all day. (Though let’s be honest, we still do that as much as possible during the semester). Instead of endless Netflix, road trips and leisure activities, your days are now filled with club meetings, homework and classes.

3. Leaving behind home cooked meals

It’s back to the dining hall again, and the dining hall means an abrupt cessation to your of your favorite foods. No longer is your food made with love, but rather it’s mass produced in an industrial kitchen.

4. Setting your own schedule again

A natural consequence of being home is that your time is split. Your extended family wants to see you, your friends want to see you and your time is no longer your own. Even if coming back to college makes you miss your family, it is nice to be able to set your own schedule again and raise a glass to freedom.

5. Breezing through syllabus week

One of the self-evident truths of college is that the first week of classes means lots of syllabi, lots of listening to professor’s expectations and minimal homework. It’s a nice way to ease back into the school schedule and gives you time to acclimate yourself before the semester really starts.

6. Attending new classes filled with new things you don’t understand

Some of these classes you may be excited about taking, others you’re probably dreading. Regardless, you have about four months of new material to tackle and you’re reminded once again of how much you don't know.

7. Crying over how much school cost

(Aka when you actually want to punch the bursar). There’s a mind-boggling amount of money due in tuition for the new semester, which may or may not have given you a mild panic attack. Then you have to buy books, and even if you tried to be as frugal as possible, they probably cost a fortune.

8. Remembering you have responsibilities again

No longer is the laundry free and nearby, but it costs money and is more than likely a couple of flights of stairs below you. Meals aren’t given to you anymore either, you have to trek to the dining hall three times a day if you want your hunger to be satisfied.

9. Realizing you have to do everything you put off last semester

There’s a million things you haven’t done, from checking out that study abroad program to looking ahead for summer internships and jobs. You also might have a new leadership position in a club or organization and may have been putting off going to the gym. Now is when you start to realize there are some things you can't keep putting on the back burner.

10. Feeling determined to make this semester your best semester

This will be semester you earn better grades. This will be the semester you learn to budget your time well.This will be the semester you stop procrastinating. You just took a break, but now it’s time to buckle down and work!