With winter semester exams concluding on April 30 and fall semester classes beginning Aug. 31, McGillians were given four luxurious months to let their minds roam free from endless readings, WeBWorKs, and lab reports. Many students leave Montreal, returning to hometowns and part-time jobs that barely pay a livable wage. Others stay in the city, enrolling in summer classes or simply savouring the fleeting Montreal warmth at Parc Jeanne-Mance. A few did it all: work, travel, and time with friends. Although all their summers may have diverged tremendously, returning students are united by the same struggle: mental disconnect from the academic vigour of McGill that we all love to hate and hate to love.
It only takes a few days of uninterrupted Instagram scrolling and aimless neighbourhood walks before the Summer Brain (SB) switches on. Your SB is so happy and naive; it believes that a day consisting of tanning, eating out, and partying is a triumph of productivity. The SB, unchallenged for weeks on end, may go into shock when you find yourself back in the McIntyre Medical Building at 8:30 a.m. But fret not: As your SB scrambles to take notes, set up a Notion, and jump into a hefty reading list, you are not alone. Transitions are challenging—even when those transitions are back to a place you’re well-acquainted with.
In an interview with The Tribune, Léa Neblai, U2 Arts, shared that returning to McGill after a summer relaxing at home on Guadeloupe beaches brings some anxiety.
“I mostly struggle with the routine because I’m not so organized […] and there’s a lot of time management and realization that you [can’t] take too long to [do] your readings,” Neblai said. “It’s difficult for me to set a strict routine and stick to it.”
Many students find organizing their time a difficult and daunting feat after a summer off. Ivy Luders, U2 Arts, mirrored the worries that Neblai expressed.
“I feel like even though I’m a junior, I still don’t know how to balance all of the readings I have to do,” Luders said. “It takes so much time and I’m such a slow reader, and I get so distracted. I’m still sorting it out.”
Despite shared anxiety about the incoming heavy workload, Neblai feels that an enjoyable, manageable routine will fall into place in time.
“I’m looking forward to learning new things [and] discovering new people,” she added. “[I’m taking] classes that I’m really interested in, so I hope I’m going to learn stuff that I like and enjoy working in these circles.”
Lucas Sirois, U3 Arts, echoed these ideas in an interview with The Tribune, highlighting that the back-to-school transition gets easier each year, and that enjoying campus while it’s nice out is the best remedy. Sirois explained that switching the mental gears from summer relaxation to the rigour McGill expects is part of what can make the transition a challenge.
David Flexer, U1 Arts, acknowledged that back-to-school anxiety isn’t always a terrible thing in an interview with The Tribune.
“The good thing about being anxious is that it’s kind of like the double-edged blade of, [you’re] anxious, because it’s change, it’s new, it’s stressful, but at the same time, it’s new, so it opens you up to so many more opportunities.”
So here’s some Tribune tough love. Remember that transitions are a challenge for everyone, no matter how far from home you may be, or what year you are embarking on. Let your SB go, as it has served its purpose and will always come back. With this in mind, allow yourself some grace to feel multiple things at once as the course load inevitably picks up. Don’t forget—anxiety and excitement can go hand in hand.