Two months ago, heads buried in books, cramming for finals and craving lazy sun-filled afternoons, we were pretty darn well ready to pack up and dive into our summertime fantasies. Behind the pages of our econ textbooks, the idea of fabulous new internships, various vacations and European adventures, annual summer flings and—let’s not forget—homemade meals you don’t have to swipe an ID for, seemed all too appealing.
Two months in, we’re over it—and itchin’ to head back to campus.
Whether your hometown is boring you to tears, or your stressful internship has you desperately missing a college schedule(read: no Friday classes, ever) we all have our own reasons for counting down the days ‘til September. Here are collegiettes’ top 20:
1. Sharing the Same Address as the BFFs
Turns out that in the real world, all your faves don’t actually live down the hall from you. Sigh. Arranging get-togethers between summer jobs, long commutes and vacations is a mess. How much cooler was it to grab the girls for dinner simply by swinging by their adjacent rooms, instead of the tangled mess that is trying to plan get-togethers during the summer?
2. Living at Home Has Us Feeling Like We’re 15—Again
Back to sneaking in after-hours? After getting in the groove of living on your own, it’s totally frustrating to go back to curfews and helicopter parents. (And trying to protest that you actually stay out a lot later back at school doesn’t really seem to help matters).
3. Campus Meal Plan = Much-Needed Choice and Convenience!
Sure, we’re often bitter about the cost-per-meal ratio, and we all love to hate on the oft-wilting lettuce and greasy fries, but when it comes down to it, we secretly adore the dining hall. If we want to have an omelet and toast for dinner, or samples of three different types of cookies for dessert, we better darn well have that option. It’s better than a soggy Starbucks wrap on our way home from work!
4. Actual Motivation to Work Out
With free access to top-notch facilities, we had no excuse during the school year for skipping out on the gym—and one really good one for checkin’ out the basketball team mid-work out.
5. Boys, Boys, Boys
As we’ve probably all learned, it’s a lot easier to meet guys as a co-ed. From flirting with your charming chem lab partner to always running into that neighbor down the hall from you, there just seem to be way more possibilities for romance in college. (Vastly older summer co-workers aren’t really cutting it for us).
6. Hometown Parties Just Don’t Compare to College Nightlife, Period
Between Thirsty Thursdays, Friday-night frat parties, and the knowledge that there’s probably a great party going on anyday of the week on campus, our summer social lives in comparison seem kind of, well, lame.
7. We Desperately Miss Our Favorite Hangouts
Whether you’ll be a sophomore or a seasoned senior, you’ve likely spent a lot of time scoping out a whole range of favorite haunts and hangouts around campus. Our college towns have become like second homes—and we’re officially homesick. Here’s to regaining our seat at the local coffee shop, hitting up our beloved boutiques and cheap eats again—even getting back to that perfect campus study spot we swear is the only place where we can actually focus.
8. Our Inner Intellectual is Wilting
Truth is, we’re actually feeling a bit nostalgic for class. Inspiring professors, incredible courses and that personal satisfaction you can only get from acing a paper for a class you’re completely passionate about are much better alternatives to making copies and fetching the office coffee all summer long.
9. The College Schedule…or Lack Thereof
Summer has many of us working 9 to 5—and yearning for the days when a 10 a.m. once a week felt like a killer. The ability to form a sched around your personal body clock just might be one of the greatest perks of college life.
10. Milestones Are Ahead
Turning another year older has its perks—from finally being able to (legally) check out the university bar life, to getting better campus housing picks and scoring prime class times (as in no mornings…see above). Plus, actually getting to take classes in your major is way more exciting than the usual drab “intro”s and 101s.
11. We’re Months Behind on Gossip
Sporadic texting, Skype and Facebook stalking just don’t cut it. We can’t wait to catch up with our college girls for real in the fall and get all the dirt on their latest adventures—especially from those who were abroad in the spring.
12. Spontaneous Dorm Makeovers
Admit it: your room at home is pretty much a shrine to the past—and probably hasn’t changed since the early 2000s. Heading back to school means news digs and more flexibility to regularly redecorate with fresh designs. Sure, your dorm room may be the size of a postage stamp, but really, isn’t that half the fun? Get creative!
13. Space from Home
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and during the semester we were quite sentimental about our families and friends back home. But going back to living with the ‘rents, dealing with pesky siblings and remembering why we stopped hanging out with certain hometown friends in the first place can make us all(sheepishly) crave that distance again.
14. Being True To Your School
As cheesy as it is, school pride definitely helps to make college, well, college. Between belting out the fight song at a pre-game pep rally, indulging in crazy traditions (naked quad runs, anyone?) or even just participating in a friendly intramural softball game, there are just certain things that we won’t really get post-grad. Admit it—cheering on your hometown MLB team just doesn’t bring the same kind of passion we feel come college football season. Rah, Rah!
15. We Secretly Enjoy Over-Achieving
If you’re the typical collegiette, you’re involved in a million things on campus—and being away from it all is actually stressing you out. Summertime has us stuck in the office mailroom; we’ll feel a lot more confident once we’re back to our Editor-in-Chief/Student Council President/MVP positions!
16. A Much-Needed Change of Scenery
Whether you’ve been braving the concrete jungle this summer as an intern, or stuck back in strip-mall suburbia, it’s easy to get nostalgic for the blooming flowerbeds, grassy quads and fall foliage of your campus. Plus, being able to walk everywhere means you actually get to enjoy it.
17. We Heart the Campus Activities Board
Back on campus, there seem to always be a million events going on at once—and even better, most of them are free. University-sponsored events like outdoor concerts, formal dances, and poetry slams and comedy acts kept us oh-so active—and free or discounted tickets on local museums and plays kept us cultured and within budget!
18. Movie Nights---or, How We Find Ways to Procrastinate
Silly traditions often get us through those miserable late-night study sessions. We so miss the bonding, camaraderie and guilt-free midnight snacking. The bleary-eyed cramming part? Yeah, not so much…
19. Studying Abroad is Just Around the Corner
How could you not look forward to a 4-month-long credit-earning vacation—er, study session? For those who are so lucky as to be studying abroad this year, get psyched for heading overseas and enjoying one of the absolute highlights of your college career. ¡Vámonos!
20. Pant Suits are Stifling Our Fashion Freedom
Office dress codes are crampin’ our style; we’ll be glad to return to the days of wearing what we want. Whether you simply slip into sweats before lecture, or enjoy putting together crazy, trendy pieces just for the fun of it, we all love college fashion for the same reason we love the dining hall—choices.