Back to School Blues
October 23, 2024
Credit: Pinterest
Writer: Marissa Brucker
Editors: Dani Eder, Ava Malkin, & Kate Shapiro
I am a few months into my junior year of college, and I love my school more than anything, but there is no beating around the bush. Move in sucks. Every. Single. Time.
Thinking back to freshman year, move-in was terrifying. Your parents give you a kiss and simply leave you to fend for yourself in a new, foreign land full of complete strangers. You wonder how you will ever adapt to such a different environment, but slowly, you get the hang of the new life you were launched into. You meet new people, get comfortable in your classes, and learn how to manage your seemingly endless dirty laundry pile. Before you are fully able to digest your new normal and feel settled in, the semester is over, and it’s time to go home for winter break.
After a short 3 weeks at home, it is time to drive back to Ithaca for the winter semester in January. You think, ‘This will be easy. I already did a whole semester. I conquered the hard part, right? Wrong. During those three weeks you were home, your mom cooked your favorite dinner, your dad did your laundry, your brothers filled your house with laughter, and your dog slept in your bed with you. You fall back into your routine. You got comfortable. And going back to your new norm inevitably sucks. You dread going back until you cannot avoid Ithaca anymore, picking the last possible day before classes to come back. When you get there, you fall back into your everyday routine with ease and regain your confidence as a student living on your own.
But then the semester ends, and it’s summer. You go home, spend time with your family and home friends, and settle back into a routine that feels very similar to the one you have known and loved all your life. It’s easy to forget about the stress of being a student living on your own. So, when August rolls around, and your mom mentions it’s time to start laying out the clothes you need to pack, you panic. “I can’t go back,” “College isn’t for me,” “I will enroll in a place closer to home,” my poor parents have heard it all. But semester after semester, and break after break, they kiss my forehead and send me back to school with a smile and a wave. Each time I go, it gets a little bit easier to pull out of my driveway to settle back into my routine, and I remember everything that makes Cornell feel like my home.
Next time you are stressing about returning to school, remember that every time you go home is a reset. Give yourself some grace when adjusting back to the school day-to-day. Whether it is your first college semester or your eighth, there is nothing small about the adjustment to school. Your roommate, your TA, your neighbor, and the random kid you saw doing their laundry in the dorm basement last week all also have to adjust to the school rhythm. Do not let your initial apprehension hinder your ability to push through your anxieties. Continue to prove that you can do hard things and that you are meant to be here and, more importantly, belong here. Going home makes coming back difficult for everyone. It is what you do with that anxiety when you step foot on campus every August that decides if these anxieties will determine your level of success at school. It's okay to be afraid, but show up anyway; it’s hard to reach the finish line of any race if you stand and stare at what’s ahead of you from the starting line.
