As college students, the only thing that seems to get us through each week is knowing the weekend is near. The only thing that seems to get us through weeks are those mini breaks, such as only getting off school on Fridays. And of course, we always anticipate the longer breaks: Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring, and summer. Although we enjoy these long, stress-free breaks, getting back into the swing of things after they end is always the hardest thing to do.
Our normal sleep schedules are far beyond return at that point. How are we supposed to get up at 6 a.m. when that's actually the time we've been going to bed all break? We hate forcing ourselves to fall asleep, but we always regret not going to sleep earlier when we have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to our 8 a.m. classes.
We have to get caught up in the loop. If we missed out on certain events or gossip, we have to get caught up then and there, and we have to know every detail. What we got for Christmas, what our crazy aunts did at Thanksgiving dinner, or what crazy stories people have from spring break are always part of the catch-up conversations. It might take hours, or several days, to get everything we need to say out, but we get it done.
Our classes seem extremely tough as soon as we walk in. Granted, they probably are, but going from doing absolutely nothing and being lazy 24/7 to having assignments for five different classes in a week seems overwhelming. It takes about a month to get back in the swing of things, and even when you've gotten all your assignments done, you still never really feel "done."
Homesickness hits hard. We missed our friends, but we already miss our family more. Being away from home while going to college is tough anyway, but returning to school after being around your loud, obnoxious, crazy family after a while always seems so lonely. It's hard to cherish family time in the moment, but we almost always end up missing our families more than anything.
Everyone and their mother is engaged. Ah, the seasons of love for long-term couples. Our respective social media pages are flooded with engagement rings and engagement photo sessions, making us all feel a little lonelier than we already did before.
With all the craze in getting back into the school grind, we tend to forget about all of the positives. We drag our feet and dread going to class, and wonder when we will be done with school for good. We get used to not having to do anything, and we're lazy and mostly discouraged. There are positives, though: getting closer to earning our degrees, starting the rest of our lives doing what we love, and making even more cherished memories with our peers and friends.
Breaks are great, but college doesn't last forever. Cherish it!
