The new semester is about to begin, and you don't want to accept it. Chances are most of your classmates and students around the world don't want to accept it either. We're all pretending that it's not happening. Daydreaming that maybe the administration will change its policy suddenly and have school start in February or maybe just cancel the coming semester all together. It's pretty common knowledge that we students are big procrastinators. We believe that if we don't think about something, that it can't possibly happen. The semester is approaching, however, and we're going to have to face it eventually. To help further that procrastination here are the eight stages college students experience as they prepare, mentally and physically, for the coming semester.
1. As the new semester approaches, denial is basically your best friend at this point.
You put everything about school out of your mind, and if anyone asks you about your schedule, you pretend that you don't know what they're talking about.
2. Your refusal to accept the situation results in putting everything off until the last minute.
This causes you to expect the absolute worse and eventually go into a mild panic as you hyperventilate about, well, everything
3. You now go into a fight or flight mode by hibernating in your bed and watching Netflix
You try to "destress" from the situation. All you manage to do is write a killer list of all the things you need to get done.
4. You then start planning all the things you could do instead of going to college.
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You contemplate life in the circus as a lion tamer's assistant since that probably doesn't require training but you stop yourself at practicing how you would say "do you like fries with that?"
5. Stress (part one)
Sets in when you realize that you finally have to get your butt in gear and get all your textbooks, repack everything and make sure your car is ready for your trip back to school.
6. You're finally feeling the smallest bit of excitement about the coming semester because you're back with your besties.
You don't realize you missed them so much until you are back together. Plus you guys get to enjoy your last few days of freedom together.
7. With that excitement finally comes full acceptance.
Much as you want your break to continue, you know that it can't. You have to further your education at some point so it might as well be now.
8. The last stage is stress (part 2).
You don't know what everyone is talking about with this easy syllabus week. You've already been assigned a ten page paper on the Civil War and have two tests the following week.
