Ah, being back at school is such a good feeling. After being gone for a semester and then the summer, it is nice to be back to the familiar setting of college; limited parking, awkward smiles to people you met once, terrified freshman, and over-priced everything.

Being in the same apartment is also nice; you know the one, where the front lock sticks and gives a murderer enough chance to murder, the place where pants are optional, and the one with the stairs that literally tried to murder your roommate while you were abroad. Luckily she lived to tell the tale and now we can get back to watching horror movies and making bad jokes in the pool.

It is still weird to be back though. For some reason, my coming back to school had me thinking that I was going back to the university I went to in Ireland. It’s a hard fact that I have been grappling with; that I am indeed not back in Cork, Ireland but am in Stockton, California, where the weather is excruciatingly hot and the bars play annoying music. I miss being in Ireland more than anything, but I am working to go back, and being here is part of that plan.

The hardest part about restarting school is getting used to my new schedule. Not only my schedule of classes but also balancing work, my social life, and self-care.

I have never been the best at time management, even now I am writing this an hour before the deadline, but I will always try. I have been working to get better at not procrastinating- and prioritizing my responsibilities. This got even harder in Ireland, where I could drink with friends often, and now I can do that here. However, many of my friends are not old enough to drink, or they just have their lives much more organized than I do and they don’t have the time. I plan on dedicating more of my time this year to my work, and studying for classes. But at the same time I want to explore more of where I live and actually live like I did in Ireland. If I plan my schoolwork and hours for work out properly, I can have each weekend for myself. Which won’t be ideal, at first, seeing as last semester and this summer I had a very relaxed weekly schedule, but I think having a fairly regular schedule will be very beneficial for me in the future.

With this scheduling of my life, I also need to get better at not taking on projects I don’t have time for, or don’t actually want to do. This includes anything from social engagements to extra work and research. While these opportunities may be good for my growth, they may impede on my everyday stress levels and possibly even schoolwork, both of which are very important to me.

I know that this year will be a good one, even if it is going to be stressful. But it is my senior year as an undergrad and I refuse to let it be wasted!