For many college students, summer is spent counting down the days until it is time to head back to campus and start another school year. Visions of athletic events, late night Cookout runs and joining new clubs and organizations fill our brains with excitement.

But once the reality of waiting months before seeing your family and hometown again sets in, it can be difficult to deal with. The endless coursework sets in and it feels like an eternity until the next day off. Here are some tips for having a balanced semester and not letting the back-to-school blues get you down.

1. Stay active.

This is the important aspect of maintaining a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle. It is easy to get caught up in the chaos of college life but it is vital to take care of your own physical and mental health first. Spend time each day doing some sort of physical activity, whether it be walking instead of driving to dinner or working out at the gym.

It’s imperative to each person's self-esteem and general happiness. Staying active in the campus community is equally as important. Keep contributing to the clubs and organizations you joined and make an effort to catch up with friends.

Furman, and colleges, in general, make it easy to get involved. It can be difficult to see everyone with new classes and new living situations, so setting time aside each week for each other will make the start of a new term less overwhelming and feel more like old times.

2. Take a break.

This may sound contradicting to my last piece of advice, but, in fact, it coincides with it. After a long day of class, labs, clubs, activities and so on, it is important to take time for yourself, whether it be a power nap, calling your sibling, or catching up on your favorite Netflix shows.

It helps make college feel more like home. Do not worry about what others may think because chances are, they need this time to themselves as well. Do not feel pressured to attend every social event every weekend. There will be others and it is okay to miss a few here and there.

3. Stick to a schedule.

Staying on top of your course load is imperative to maintaining your sanity. You have just returned from three months of beach vacations and lazy days where school work seemed like a foreign concept.

Challenging classes will at times give you terrible anxiety, but working ahead when you have extra time and devoting a certain number of hours each day to each class will make it seem more bearable. It is all about creating a routine and sticking to it to make sure nothing gets missed or left behind.

Overall, at some point or another, most of us face the back-to-school blues but by staying active, taking breaks, and sticking to a schedule, hopefully, they can be beaten. College is all about finding a healthy balance in all aspects of life in order to make it seem less overwhelming and more like a happy place. By following this tips, they may turn out to be the best four years of your life!