I remember not so long ago when I was writing an article about why coming back to school after winter break is so hard. Now it’s time for me to contradict myself and say that leaving school for summer vacation is even harder.

The obvious and most cliché reason is that you are saying goodbye to your friends. I’m about to go two months without seeing people who I’ve seen nearly every day for the past year! Additionally, since I’ll be studying abroad in the fall, this means I may not see some friends until January of next year — a very scary thought indeed. Therefore, I need to appreciate these last few days with those friends in order to make up for the months of separation that I’ll have to endure.

With people leaving for a whole summer, this means that saying goodbye is going to be a constant. I’ll be the first to admit that I hate saying goodbye, not because I’m leaving the person, but mostly because I’m so awkward when it comes to saying bye smoothly. This is going to be the last time I am seeing this person for months, so I certainly have to make it memorable, right? There are always hugs involved, and sometimes some emotion, both of which make me uncomfortable. This is an unavoidable part of college, so I suppose it’s time I get over it.

This next part really goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway, finals? I know there’s no way around them, but the fact that they’re happening right as you’re saying goodbye to all your friends while simultaneously trying to pack your dorm away does not make life any easier. I believe that within the past week I’ve spent an average of six hours a day in the library, and that’s on a light day. The library has become my home; I do not feel normal in my dorm at this point. Whenever I am idling in my dorm I feel as though I should be heading over to the library to actually be productive. Hanging out with friends now means going to the library in my mind.

To expand on what I vaguely mentioned in my last paragraph but then got distracted by my rant, packing is also a real pain. At any moment when I’m leaning back to try and enjoy myself, I remember that I should either be studying or packing. I never realized how much junk I had in my dorm until I started moving out this semester. Not to mention that all the junk in my dorm is simply going to become junk in my room at home pretty soon. Plus, having a dorm-friendly pet turns out to be very inconvenient when trying to figure out how to transfer them back and forth. Sorry fish, you’re cool, but it’s a real pain finding someone to hold you while I drive home.

The end of the year is just a painful time in general. Finals, packing, saying goodbye and spending the majority of your days dedicated to the library before your health is not particularly enjoyable. While I’m going to be very upset about the end of this amazing year at Rollins, another part of me is just ready to be done with all this nonsense.