It is the end of the school year. With a little less than two weeks left, one of which being finals, most people will be gone soon. A whirlwind of emotions lies ahead.

First off, everyone is stressed. We all have those big projects to do to finish off the year, and then there are finals to worry about. Plus, you have to pack everything. This all brings on a lot of anxiety.

People want to do well on their finals and finish the year strong.

Then you have the excitement of going home. You finish another year of school, you get three months off of studying and homework (unless you are taking a summer class) and you just get to relax and live life for a little while.

It is the perfect time to refresh and recuperate.

But then comes the sadness. The time has come; the year has ended, and it is time to say goodbye to all your friends. You have to pack up your room and go back to your pre-college life, leaving the college life behind for a while.

It is such a weird feeling. You created this new life away from home, made all these memories and now you have to go back.

In this time there are so many things to do: finish final projects, study and make more memories. It is hard to do it all.

Last year when the school year ended, I was in such a weird mood the whole last week. I had just made all these friends throughout the year, and then I had to leave them for three months.

You go from being a college student staying up late, doing whatever you want, going wherever you want to being back at home with your family, telling them where you are going and what you are doing.

College is a great experience — there are so many amazing people and so many things to do. Home is amazing, too, though. You get to be with family, things can be a little more structured and feel a little more normal.

Ultimately, summer ended and I got to be back at college with all my friends again.

I was excited to be back, see everyone again and live my college life.

It is an interesting cycle that we go through: go to college, make friends, have that experience, leave for home for three months, come back to school and repeat.

While obviously some things stay the same from year to year, it is inevitable there will be some changes. That is just a part of life — learning to adapt is important as nothing is ever really set in stone.

Since there is a limited time left in the year, I encourage you to try to take a break from studying or projects and enjoy some time with your friends. You’ll miss them over the next three months, but just remember that you will all be back together again.

Geske can be reached at [email protected].