While the first week of classes is always a breeze since professors take their time reading through the course guidelines in detail, syllabus week marks the beginning of yet another cold, snowy spring semester in upstate New York. While many take the first week back to school as an excuse to go to the bars and drink every night, others use it to get organized and prepare for the hard semester ahead. Whichever way you spend syllabus week, here are the stages as told by the characters from "Friends":

Step 1: Reunited with friends.

After a month home for winter break, it's very exciting getting back to school and being reunited with your college friends. There is so much to catch up on and an easy week of classes ahead allows you plenty of time to do so.

Step 2: Going out.

The first night back out after break is always nice. Not only do you see people at the bar that you haven't seen in awhile, but you also don't have to worry about what time you get home and waking your parents. While being home and spending time with family is always fun, there's something about having the freedom to do whatever you want that makes college (and syllabus week) that much more fun.

Step 3: The first day of class.

Although it's exciting to be back at school, starting classes again can be stressful. As each semester ends and a new one starts up again, it means the classes you are required to take get harder and harder, but that also means you're that much closer to a degree and graduation.

Step 4: Getting assigned work.

After being a bum and watching Netflix every day for a month, getting assigned real homework again means the semester has officially begun. While the beginning of syllabus week is great, by the end it seems that every professor has assigned some type of reading or homework due the very next week.

Step 5: And so it begins.

The new semester has officially started, and although syllabus week is officially coming to an end, there are still so many fun things ahead to look forward to!