Back to the Stage
by Amani Hussain
Every year without fail, the summer cycle repeats. We find ourselves complaining about how quickly summer has been and gone, longing for the hours back we spent doomscrolling into oblivion instead of studying. Suddenly you blink and the six weeks have passed and the mountain of studying you swore you’d do to ‘get ahead’ remains untouched. The sudden feeling of dread hits as back to school ads spring up out of nowhere, everywhere you go. It's a rush of suddenly trying to do everything you put off over the summer which only makes this season all the more stressful. But can we ever really be prepared for September?
If I’m honest, there's a part of me that feels relieved as structure begins to creep back in. The whole allure of the summer season is its freedom to do anything you want with no missing assignments to hold you back, but the infinite possibilities can become so daunting that we end up doing nothing at all. Freedom is fun, but it’s messy. Without some kind of routine, the days all blur together until you can’t tell your Tuesdays from your Saturdays.
The shift of gear into school or work can feel like the ultimate comedown. Freedom is easy to romanticise; routine rarely is. We talk about September like a punishment when really it's just a different season of our lives asking different things from us. What if instead of resisting, we reframed this transition? Routine doesn't have to be about the loss of freedom, but about stepping ‘back to the stage’. A place where we can blossom in new beginnings and actually bring out our best selves.
Summer has this strange ability of making time feel elastic. Days and nights spill into each other and we feel no urgency to keep track. No deadlines, no worry- just a loose rhythm of waking when you want; eating when you’re hungry and agreeing to plans because the day feels so wide open. It's intoxicating in its own way.
Most of the year our lives are defined by external markers: timetables, work schedules, meetings, obligations. Summer peels away all complexity from life and hands us the illusion of infinite choice. But what feels liberating at first can take a hard left into unanchored restlessness. When you sleep in until noon and suddenly half the day has slipped away, it makes summer feel much less fulfilling. The films you meant to watch, books you swore you'd read and the project you put off until tomorrow because ‘there’s ages left of summer’ all get flushed away, leaving you feeling lost at sea. Isolated.
After a season of drifting, there’s something grounding about having a routine to fall back on. While it often feels restrictive, the routine around us is what helps the days flow smoothly and when we treat the school or working schedule like the enemy it returns that energy back to us. It is there to help you, sometimes deciding what to pour your energy into is tiring in itself, with a schedule it's decided for you. If you harness this saved energy for good and pour it into your classes or anything you’re tasked with then you’ll have no choice but to excel!
Romanticising routine isn’t about kidding yourself that every early alarm or extra long day is magical but it’s recognising small moments you might've otherwise missed. Appreciate the changing of the seasons as the leaves turn brown, the first sip of coffee on a crisp autumn morning and the little wins of ticking off a to-do list. Noticing the beauty in the mundane is what keeps you grounded throughout this season, making it infinitely easier.
So, remember that returning ‘back to the stage’ isn’t about losing summer’s freedom. It’s about stepping into a new act, with the chance to show up, glow up and make this year a truly meaningful one.