Yup, it is that time of year again. A time full of anxiety, excitement, and pretty much a mixture of every emotion ever.

The summer is ending and school is starting, and as someone who been through this period since starting Kindergarten 15 years ago, it is the same feeling today as it has been since I was 5 years old. Only this time, as it has since 2014, there is a twist.

The twist is that I am going back to school, but am going to school 2 hours away from my house rather than 5 or 10 minutes. And it is not a bus driver dropping me off, it is my parents (and older sister too.) Even though I am going to be a junior at SUNY New Paltz, going back to college after a fun, relaxing summer is still the same as it has been as I was when I first started college as a freshman. The routine will be the same. We drive up, get to the residence hall, spend the next few hours unpacking and organizing the dorm room, and then they leave me....for a night. And then they leave me. For good. (or at least until I see them again in a month and a half for fall break.)

Even though I am growing up and getting used to such a grind, going back to college is still a weird feeling. I get so excited, but then get so upset because I am no longer going to see my family. For a month and a half. Yet, I feel so proud because this is a guy who has survived 2 years of college without a hitch, 12 years of public school without a hitch, and several overnight school and camp trips without a hitch, so what exactly can go wrong?