As a junior in college, you’d think I would be used to moving back into school after three months of being home; however, I am really not. Of course, each year it gets easier to pack up the excessive amount of things I own and move back into college, but even at twenty years old, I still miss home. I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of either; everyone misses home no matter what age you are. College will also be stressful and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a freshman or a senior. It’ll always be stressful and hard to transition back to school.

Over the summer, I developed a really nice daily routine for myself. I got up every weekday at 7:45am, got ready, ate breakfast, and was at work by 9:00. I worked until 3:00pm and then I was home and free for the rest of the day. I love having a set routine for myself because it really takes the stress away. Being organized, even in the summer, really helps me to not fall into my super lazy habits, and I do have many lazy habits.

Getting back into a solid school routine is definitely one of the biggest frustrations and struggles of going back to school after the summer. I have found that many college kids get themselves into set routines during the school year because it just makes life a lot easier. Time management is one of the most important skills to have, especially in college. One of the biggest struggles of going back to college is acclimating yourself to life back on campus. I have been on campus for almost three weeks now and I still feel a little discombobulated. This year I am juggling two jobs, what seems like a billion extracurriculars, a leadership position, plus homework and classes. Not to mention, it’s my junior year which means that I only have so much time left to plan out my life after graduation. So far, it’s definitely been stressful trying to figure out the best way to balance everything.

Another extremely frustrating transition is moving into a brand new room, sometimes with new roommates. It’s hard to go from sleeping in your own room, with your nice bed, to slumming it back into the dorm room. Sleeping in a new place always feels a bit weird, and definitely takes some getting used to. Making your dorm room feel like a home away from home is really important. It’s hard to live on a campus that doesn’t at least partially feel like a home.

College is such a wonderful experience, but it’s a stressful experience as well. Learning how to adapt to life back on campus can be really difficult, but once you get your routine down, everything starts to fall into place.