1. The Anticipation
Summer is the best time of year, no doubt, but three quarters of the way through the season, the school feels hit you. As much as laying on the beach every day is the best, moving back to school is its own activity and adventure. You may experience excitement, nervousness and the urge to create a countdown to move-in day or rush week.
2. The Planning
Whether you're a freshman or a third-year senior, it seems that when August rolls around you still succumb to the Back-To-School Target and Walmart sales. You suddenly want new sheets or pillows for your cozy studio dorm. If this is your first year living off campus, you may find yourself planning excessive parties and buying muffin tins to bake with your roomies. Slow down there. If you already have a storage unit, or six, there is no need to buy the new one, even if it's on clearance, or a stack of coat hangers. You have enough.
3. The Reconnecting
Obviously you kept in touch with your roomies and study buddies over break, but everyone gets busy. You may start to send excessive snapchats telling everyone you cannot wait to see them. Others may experience excessive scheduling to eat at every restaurant near school that they missed. Embrace the reunions before crunch time!
4. Fear Of Future FOMO
Regardless of whether you go to school across county lines or across the country, you may experience intense FOMO. You will feel the need to fit everything in, even if it's something you've done already this summer, a week and a half before move-in day. The beach, a pedicure, your favorite breakfast spot, one last shopping trip, a bonfire with your friends and everything else. Even a car wash for your car that will sit in your garage while you are gone.
5. Packing
This will take you hours. You will bring your suitcases up from storage days in advance and leave them on your bedroom floor, open and taking up space. This is not progress. This is called procrastination. It is normal.
6. Moving In
For the first hour or two unpacking and decorating your school home is fun! Then students experience laziness, distraction, Netflix, RAs, and something better to do. You may live out of boxes for a few days. You may rearrange the furniture four times.
7. The First Day Of Classes
Students may experience professors that they love and those that they will dread having to listen to for two hours three times a week. Many experience symptoms of homesickness or the countdown to Christmas break. The recommended cure is some coffee, optimism, and finally, unpacking.