Almost everyone has heard of the five stages of grief, even if they have not suffered a tragedy. These stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. You may have already known that. But did you know that you probably experienced all of them when you came back to school after Christmas Break?
1. Denial
Before you left to go back to school, did you put off packing as long as you possibly could? Did you avoid checking your email for weeks? Then you may have experienced the first stage of grief. You were in denial. You may still be.
2. Anger
Once you realized you absolutely had to start packing and reading your emails, did you feel bitter and irritated? Did you begin to scowl at small children and animals? Did it take more muscles to smile than to frown? Maybe, just maybe, you were angry.
3. Bargaining
This is one of the more confusing stages of grief. So let's start with some examples. Did you find yourself praying for school cancellations? Did you beg friends and family to subtly kidnap you? Did you contemplate committing identity theft in a desperate attempt to create a new life for yourself, one free of the responsibilities of college life? You were definitely bargaining.
4. Depression
You finally realized that all of these plans and requests were a bit unreasonable. This just discouraged you more. Did you spend the majority of your days avoiding social interactions while you binge-watched New Girl? Did you eat more ice cream in one week than you had the entire semester previous? Did pictures of fuzzy animals make you cry? You were most likely experiencing a mild state of depression.
5. Acceptance
After watching four seasons of New Girl in three days, you finally decided to change your clothes and eat something that didn't require a microwave. You realized that you had to go back to school so you might as well make the most of what was left of your break. You spent those last few days laughing with your friends and eating the best food that your mom could cook. Did you start looking forward to the good times you would have on campus? Did you actually get excited about seeing your friends at school again? Congratulations! You've made through the five stages of grief and have finally accepted your situation.
Now go enjoy your life as a college student and play in the snow while it's still here!
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