Coming back to school after an amazing, awful, or alright summer is always the hardest thing to do.

Whether you had the time of your life or all you were doing was working, school is always more difficult than a summer vacation and a lot of people dread coming back to school.

I had a hard time coming back to school at first because I wasn’t ready for the six classes that I had to take, the two jobs I have and I couldn’t wrap my head around that fact that I was finally a junior. I didn’t want to come back at first and to be honest, now I am so excited to finally be back and get into the mix of things.

How to deal with this? Give it a chance!

–          Schedule Schedule Schedule everything.

• Make sure you know what your next couple of months are going to be like before you go back to class.
• Make sure you have time for classes and studying but also make time for friends, fun and family.

–          Adjust your sleeping schedule.

• If necessary, due to waking up whenever during the summer, fix your sleeping schedule and make sure it works with school and work.

–          Make sure you are prepared for classes.

• Whether that means studying a little every day during the summer or it could even mean having all your school supplies ready. The less things you have to worry about, the more focused you are with classes.  You don’t want your first days back rushed, sleepless and frustrating.

–          Most importantly, (IF YOU LIVE ON CAMPUS) stay at school for the first couple of weekends.

• Unless it is important, don’t go home for the weekend. Spend that time finishing up your work and socializing so you can become familiar with what the school year is going to be for you.
• At first it may be boring because everyone is getting used to school or it might be exciting because everyone is still in the summer mentality, but give it a chance and see what the weekend is like.

Unfortunately, not many people actually do this. If this is the case, give it a week or two and you will get back into things. Granted, these two weeks may actually be hellish and stressful but it gets easier when you get used to things.

After a fun packed summer, a month in Italy and working 50 hour weeks for two months, school was the last thing on my mind. Only after a week of returning I am as stressed as I would be during finals week. I didn’t do any of these things, which is why I am writing this. If I would’ve done any of this, I would’ve been way more prepared for classes. It still isn’t too late though.

Go get what you need for classes, start listening and paying attention in class and don’t forget that even though the summer vacation has passed, the summer doesn’t end until the 21^st of September; which simply means everyone is still in the summer mentality.

Fix that AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and focus on what is important for now. Whether you are taking loans out, paying out of your pocket or on a full ride for college, the time and money is spent so do it the right way.