Friends
As lists go, this first entry is a little obvious. And yet, every year, as those three sparse and bare months of missing your college friends finally roll by, we appreciate our friends all over again. That first moment where you see people you haven’t seen in a long time is one of the best. I know my favorite all time hugs have born out that moment of ecstasy as all your good memories come back to you at once.
New Places to Live
New apartment smell is generally, unless the previous tenants were a little sketchy, an exciting and happy thing. So too is the fun of exploring a new place, something that most of us had as children and still do again on those rare occasions where we spend our first few minutes imagining where we are going to put everything in our new space. Decorating is also an exciting experience, whether carefully hung picture frames and paintings are your style, or posters and newspaper clippings hastily taped to the wall. Either way, putting together a new space is just one of many sources of optimism that a new school year can bring. Personally, I suggest soaking up as much of that as you can now, because it may be a lot harder to find after the semester, and homework, starts.
Learning
So maybe I’m a nerd. It’s not exactly hard for me to admit; as a child I always identified with Hermione, and not just because of our shared “brown, bushy hair.” But even the expert sources of my non-nerdy friends and the Internet agree that there is just something about the beginning of a new school year, of new classes, that peaks one’s interest in it all. Maybe it is the smell of new notebooks and graphite, but something always gets me excited about classes for a while. Of course, I recommend savoring it while it lasts; three weeks into the school year and classes will become practically intolerable to all again.