Stages of Returning to School After Summer Break

Going back to college after summer break is a blessing and a curse. As students, there are multiple phases we go through when we are wasting away our summer before returning to campus. All students can usually identify with at least a couple of these situations while on break:

Stage 1: Home Sweet Home

Once summer hits, we are all ready to get off of campus to enjoy the time off. As we begin to pack up our dorm rooms, the longing for home begins even before finals week is even finished. The thought of being home and seeing your hometown friends begins to creep into reality during those closing weeks of the term.

Stage 2: Paradise Phase

It may be just me, but once I embark on summer break, I feel as though it’s paradise. This is the time after finals, but before your summer job begins, in which responsibility has departed from your mind. All you have to worry about is what you want to wear to the beach or what show you’ll binge on Netflix that day.

Stage 3: Boredom Hits

For some reason, we always believe that summer will never be dull, but instead a day-by-day excitement. Maybe it’s just me, but once my summer job starts, the summer begins to become boring. Working in hot weather just makes me want to lay down and relax. Sometimes, during the summer, I actually yearn to return to campus so I am free once again from my parent’s rule.

Stage 4: School Season Begins to Set In

At the brink of the last summer month, the reality of going back to school begins to set in, and it’s not the best feeling. By this time, you have just begun to be comfortable at home. You’re settled in to your summer routine, and content to stay there for the rest of your life. The yearning sensation of returning to school gives way to anxious thoughts of midterms, term papers, and finals. Once again, you are faced with the reality of having to spend long hours in the library to pass a class that may or may not be useful to your actual degree.

Stage 5: Books, Bills, and Back to School

Forget the thoughts of returning to school: there is now tangible evidence your summer rest is over. Back to budgeting for books and saving money (if you ever stopped), which is not the way I would like to spend my last days at home.

Stage 6: Packing Bags

Here it is. The time we all have been waiting for: the return to campus. Most of us are usually excited to see our college friends and catch up from the summer away. Departing from home is easier than the last time, as we begin to become the more independent version of ourselves. The summer can be a whirlwind of emotions, but now we are back to school, and ready to make more memories.