One of the most difficult parts of a new school year is making the quick transition from a relaxing summer with no homework and little responsibilities to a deadline-ridden school year.

Personally, I always find the months of August and September very daunting and stressful. Up until mid-August I consider myself still in “summer mode,” which means not even thinking about homework or school.

However, once I make the switch from summer to school, I feel like all of my responsibilities come crashing down on me at once.

All of a sudden I go from being able to relax and sleep in until 10 most days to having to force myself to wake up at the crack of dawn and drive thirty minutes to school.

One of my biggest stress-causing wake-up calls is the loads of homework that I am tasked with every night. Going from nights of free time and TikTok to nights full of English and Statistics can be especially difficult to come to terms with and adapt to.

I always tend to feel an excess amount of stress in the early months of school, but this year, my stress is magnified due to the looming threat of college applications.

All of the clubs I have on top of the schoolwork I’m given can also have an effect on my mental health. While I love being involved in the things that inspire me, sometimes the anxiety of wondering how late I’m going to be able to get home and start my homework is overbearing.

Sometimes the stress and pressure of September and a new school year can feel as if it’s too much for one person to handle, especially in early transitional months where it can feel impossible to keep up with everything.

I noticed at the beginning of the month and the end of August that one of the aspects of the new school year that was stressing me out the most was my mindset. I noticed that I had a tendency to focus on future due dates and assignments obsessively.

Even with due dates that were months or weeks in the future, I found myself worrying over them way before I had to. This mindset caused me to put way too much on my plate and stopped me from focusing on the positive aspects of school such as seeing my friends and meeting my new teachers.

Once I realized that this mindset was not helping me to be productive, but instead hurting me and causing me to have little motivation, I developed a new outlook on the school year which I feel could be helpful to other students struggling with stress.

The phrase “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” describes perfectly what approach should be taken towards the daunting new school year.

In order to live this school year to the fullest and avoid that summer to school year transition environment, my advice to all students would be to focus on the present and adopt a mindset that excites you, not one that scares you.