Here it is: the beginning of January and everyone is preparing to head back to campus (or wherever) for the second half of the school year. The second semester is always much different than the first one. The weather starts off warm and is quickly followed by the beauty of fall. The beginning of cold and snow means that Christmas break is right around the corner and a glorious month of freedom awaits. Of course, each person is busy with a full workload of classes and other extracurricular commitments, but the time seems to pass by at a lightning quick speed.

The second semester is entirely different. Instead of beginning with frisbee on the lawn or studying under the trees while lying on a blanket and soaking up the sun, students wake up and put on five plus layers of clothing so that they won’t freeze to death on the ten minute walk from their dorm to the academic buildings. Everyone shuffles under the weight of their backpacks and does their best to protect their exposed face from the harsh embrace of the winter air. (Of course, this doesn’t really apply if you’re lucky to attend a school in a location blessed with constantly warm weather.) If you grew up in a state that goes through all four seasons, this is nothing new. But it’s extremely hilarious to watch someone from Texas experience an icy sidewalk for the first time. They go from childlike awe at the pretty white snow, to instant hate once they slip and get a face full of it.

The second semester drags on because the weather leaves nothing to be looked forward to. You aren’t going to classes and counting down the days to Christmas. Instead, you go through classes counting down the days until summer and that job that’s waiting for you back at home (which is much more stressful than an eighteen credit semester, at times). Then again, maybe you’re graduating and this semester is the last one before fully entering into adulthood. Maybe you have an incredible job lined up and you’re ready to get started with the rest of your life in the real world. Or, you have no idea what you’re doing with the degree you spent four years working towards. Either way, the second semester is the last one and it brings you every bit closer to the end.

But, around the middle of April the weather will clear, the sun will come out, and winter will be over. You get to hang out on the lawn again. You feel excited to go to class because you’re almost done for the year. You spend as much time with your friends as possible before you go your separate ways for the next four months. You start to look forward to seeing your family again. You feel a little bit nostalgic as you pack up your room and begin to label all of the moving boxes.

Once the semester if finally over you’ll start to miss it. You’ll realize that the second semester blues aren’t really all that bad, and you’ll start the countdown to the beginning of the next school year.