Summer is what the everyday student lives for. The time of the year in which you’re allowed to lose count on how many bags of chips you’ve eaten, how many episodes of The Walking Dead you’ve watched on Netflix, and when you don’t even have to remember what day of the week it is. So, when the pure happiness of a student is threatened with the month of August, everyone is a little sadder inside. It is a hard time in every student’s life, when they realize that the easy days of June and July are disappearing, while the month of August brings what some people dread and what others love.

August brings school, which brings nights of endless typing, a multitude of stress filled tears, and sore fingers from excessive graphing calculator usage. It brings the drowsy drives to school for some, and falling asleep in the passenger seat of their mom’s Mini Van for others. School is back for another round. August brings the time in everyone’s life, where after school study groups and open computer labs become your home for the night. A perfect reason why no one likes August.

The return to school brings different emotions to different people. Mostly, there are the students as I described above: the type that are feeling despondent by the end of the first week. Senioritis comes the very first day of a twelfth grade student of this variety. These people hide in their rooms on the first day of school as long as they can, or at least until, the minute hands of the clock are pulling them away from their house, and into the dreaded parking lot of the school.

While some students have a hard time stepping foot on campus, there are some students that don’t mind returning. These students tend to refrain from telling anyone, that they are sort of excited to go back to school. They face the fact that summer is over and you are just going to have to go. They are excited to see what is coming this year, but are still going to miss the memories of the summer of 2014. These students don’t dare to mention to their friends their small excitement to return to the halls and return to their favorite teachers. They are the people in between. The return to school and end of summer is acceptable, because they are ready to get back into the school routine.

Lastly, there are the people that can’t hardly wait to get back to school. Yes, although it’s hard to believe, these people do exist. They are excited to be doing arduous homework again, working their ways to an ever so rigorous college. All summer long, they have been reviewing their flash cards, ready to be the first one to answer the question that no one else remembers. The talk of group projects and five-page essays makes them desire for the sound of the school bell: announcing that after a whole three months of waiting, school is finally in session.

The three months are almost up. Here it comes, so get ready. These three types of students are what you’ll see roaming the halls on the first day. Some will be smiling and holding their locker decorations, some barely holding their semi-filled backpack, and of course the freshman with backpacks the size of Mt. Everest: carrying every textbook, scared that the four minutes aren’t long enough. Facing it might be hard, but the school year is approaching. No matter which student you are, or how you feel about returning to school, it’s coming. It’s time to start closing up the chip bags and opening up the pencil cases. The time to turn off the T.V. and open up the Chromebooks, has graced us with its presence. Whether you love it or hate it, school is upon us and we are going to make it through another year.

(Editor’s note: Click here to see all of Emilie’s columns)