Summer is easily one of the best seasons. While winter, fall and spring each have their perks, nothing sounds more angelic to a student at UC Berkeley than having 2 1/2 months off from all homework assignments, in-class presentations and exams. As our vacation nears its conclusion, here are some things to keep in mind as we begin to embark on a new semester.

1. No more home-cooked meals of Michelin-star quality. It’s back to the good ol’ cafeteria food and the occasional Asian Ghetto trip.
2. Time to channel your inner “Bob the Builder” and start putting together that desk you ordered from Ikea, because somehow, the assemblage process seemed easier. It always felt like our bedrooms back home came prefurnished from the start.
3. Looks like we’ve got to set our alarm clocks again for those pesky 8 a.m. classes — or wake up to the sound of our roommate’s alarm going off relentlessly in the wee hours of the morning.
4. It’s back to waiting it out on the waitlist for all those classes you didn’t get into during Phase I — or Phase II.
5. Get the concept of Berkeley time ingrained back into your head, because if a class starts at 2 p.m., there’s really no need to be there at 2 p.m.
6. Ahhh … just when we were feeling free of the constant weight of a Fjallraven Kanken or JanSport on our backs, it’s back to carrying a sack of “required” books around for 15 weeks.
7. Fight-or-flight mode at Moffitt! When midterm season approaches, which seems a lot sooner than we’d hope, prepare yourself for the crowd of a lifetime. Seats are especially hard to come by.
8. Thought you’d do a little bit of light summer reading to keep your mind fresh but somehow managed to let those books collect dust? Well, now be on the lookout for those required texts (or free PDFs online) for class, and be sure to put in the hours processing the dense paragraphs of perplexing information.
9. Time to postpone doing laundry again until you realize you’ve got only one pair of underwear left.
10. Brace yourself for the intermittent sound of a “HELL YEAH” as you walk on Telegraph Avenue to get to campus.
11. Prepare your wallet for the copious amounts of boba you’ll buy throughout the year, because for some reason, we’ve got a boba shop on every block to constantly remind us of our craving.
12. Get ready for the many awkward bathroom run-ins that are bound to occur with communal bathrooms — you’ll definitely not want to use certain stalls anymore (if you know what I mean), and you’ll learn to plan your showers for when the DJ of the floor isn’t blasting their music.
13. Mentally note that Lower Sproul must be avoided at all costs if you want to avoid dodging five or six flyers every single day.
14. Uber Pool is now your go-to method of transportation whenever the walking distance to your destination is more than 20 minutes.
15. Be prepared to carry your Cal 1 Card on you at all times, because you never know when someone is going to ask to see it.
16. Pack your rubber flip-flops, because you want to avoid touching the dorm shower with your bare feet — really, you might get the plague.
17. bCourses will be your most visited site as you find yourself nervously checking your grades throughout the school year and praying to yourself that you’ll find your professor’s uploaded lecture notes.
18. You’ll finally understand the importance of eating healthy, because chips and ice cream are not the most sustainable diet.
19. Your appreciation for Saturdays and Sundays will be that much greater during the school year, and any three-day weekend will be a blessing in disguise.
20. Get ready for the occasional all-nighter, because it’s no secret that college students don’t have the best sleeping schedule, particularly when it comes to finals season.

Most importantly, prepare yourself for all the amazing, new memories that are bound to transpire this upcoming semester. Even though it can be sad to part from your friends and family back home, get ready to pave the way for some exciting experiences with all of your friends that you’ve been dying to see since the school year ended.