Returning to school after a long, non-stressful month of eating home cooked meals and binge-watching all the episodes you missed in the last couple of months can be grueling to many. The lack of effort and embarrassingly low amount of energy that was spent over break will soon fade into a distant memory as the alarm clocks are set and the textbooks come out. At this point, you are either counting down the hours until you return to your home away from home or dreading leaving the comfort of your own bed. Either way, however, there is no way around the oh-so highly anticipated arrival of what the new semester will bring. It's time to dust off your brain and begin to prepare for all the studying, writing, and reading that will shortly be thrown your way.
One of the best things about returning to school is seeing all your friends again. Your social life is finally pieced together after a long couple of weeks that mostly consisted of *family time.* As you sit around, gossiping to each one of your friends and/or roommates about your Winter break, you come to realize that maybe you did not miss one or a few people in particular. As they galavant about the room, enthusiasm laced throughout their voice, they begin to tell you about all the amazing things they did over break. They are absolutely bouncing off the walls, and what once was a simple story has now turned your friend into the queen of bragging rights. Sitting there, you try to listen in and give your full attention, but you can't help but doze off, wishing you were curled up in the comfort of you fluffy bed sheets with nothing but a big bowl of mac and cheese and your favorite show on Netflix.
The biggest wake up call the world can ever give you--realizing that you no longer have healthy, substantial, fully cooked, enjoyable meals. There really is no place like home, and it does not take long for you to realize that as you and your friends head to the dining hall. Mystery meat, mushy fruit, uncooked vegetables, and soupy ice-cream are presented on silver platers, as if that would help with the aesthetic appeal. What looks bad only tastes worse, as you disappointedly trudge back to your room and dream over the memories of your mother's home cooked meals.
Taking the inevitable walk to class may seem bad, but as you sit in the classroom reading over the syllabus, your life feels like it has plummeted down into the darkest black hole. Projects, tests, homework, pop-quizzes, written assignments....it is all a never-ending downward spiral of your social life. Remember the time you were so bored out of your mind during break that you were wishing you were back at school with something to do? Well, be careful what you wish for.
Tired as hell from the blaring noises of the alarm that went off at 8 a.m., way earlier than any time you woke up before break, you attempt to doze off as you sit in the back of the classroom. Trying to zone out the mildly irritating voice of your professor, you rest your eyes and plan out the upcoming weekend. Your eyes flutter as your professor says, "Yes, you. Do you have a question?" Worriedly, you sit up in your chair and attempt to open your eyes all the way. The nervous sweat subsides as you realize the professor was only calling on the girl in front of you. But, then you hear her voice and the question that follows. Oh dear God, this is going to be a long semester.
...and then it begins, attempting to live in the world of an adult. Cooking your own meals, cleaning your own apartment, doing homework and not procrastinating, working out, buying your own things, finding transportation to and from places, etc.
