Finally, you managed to close yet another overflowing suit case to set next to a big pile of college stuff that will somehow have to fit in the car when you move in two days from now. That's when it hits you: the sweet summer bliss of no homework and lack of overwhelming responsibilities is really over. Those three months that you craved and waited for so long came and went way too fast.
Now, you have to go back to late nights crouched over big textbooks and over-rated cafeteria food. Back to college, back to school. You know that the next nine months will bring nearly-crippling amounts of stress and almost too much hard work. A part of you wishes you could stay home, in summer mode, indefinitely. After all, who doesn't enjoy decent shower pressure and delicious home cooked meals? But the reality of it is you must go back to wearing shower shoes and worrying about long English papers and difficult exams.
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But you do miss it, and are looking forward to gossiping in your tiny dorm with your best friends who you haven't seen in far too long and coming home late after a party to order pizza. You do want to go back to the freedom, to the independence, to the adventures.
You are excited to start a new year, a better year, with even more unforgettable memories (and better grades.) This year, everything is going to be so different. You are no longer a little, confused and scared freshman. You are now a sophomore, and that alone is exciting. This time around, you are not worried about getting lost on your way to class or living with a complete stranger. Plus, you already have made quite a few wonderful friends who you can't wait to reconnect with.
Your campus is your home. You know it like the back of your hand. All its strengths and all its flaws. You love it and at the same time, hate it. So going back as the summer ends is bittersweet. It's weird. Part of you is counting down the days until you are back on campus while another part is counting down the days until you can be home again.
Back when summer had barely begun, you didn't know how you'd survive what seemed like such a long time with your sweet and loving yet often annoying family, in a small, somewhat boring town and so far away from the exciting place where no two days are alike, and all the people who you have grown so close to.
And now, you are sitting there, three months later, all packed up, getting ready to start your second year of college. A year that you hope will be even better than the last.
