School is back in session, and the hours I spent sleeping away my winter break have worn off. This time of year seems to drag the most, with months until graduation and no end in sight. The return back to school after winter break is the worst of them all.

Winter break is just long enough to give you a taste of relaxation and a stress-free environment. However, it is immediately ripped from you in as little as two weeks. At the start of January, you have to start a new semester all over again and regain your academic footing. Stress is piled back on, and teachers are expecting more than ever.

As a senior, graduation can’t come soon enough. Almost all of my teachers have already told their senior students that it’s too early in the semester to emotionally check-out, but the entropy towards senioritis is banging on my door. Winter break has rewired my brain towards self-care nights and binge-watching TV shows, not writing essays and trying to understand AP Stats.

At least after spring break, you only have a few weeks left in the semester. The period after spring break is one of the most fun for seniors, with activities like prom and senior night. Time seems to fly by, unlike this frigid January slump.

Even returning from summer break can be enjoyable! There are new people, new classes and you get to see all of your friends … plus everyone shares a similar excitement and drive for the new school year. Winter break offers the same people, mostly the same classes and three tests within the next week.

Worst of all, winter break doesn’t even offer good weather. When you come back from spring break the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and you only have to wear one jacket. When you come back from winter break, you forget to scrape off the ice on your windshield then show up to school late looking like a depressed marshmallow.

Between the weather and the second-semester slump, the return from winter break offers little compared to the cheery return from spring and summer.