With your backpack freshly dusted off, pencils sharpened, and new back-to-school shoes, it’s finally time to contemplate all the pros and woes that come with the much less talked about week than her predecessor — the second week of classes, a.k.a. SWOC.

Love It: Out of the First Week Funk

You’ve finally settled in and know where your classes are — no more scrambling through my.harvard to double-check that lecture really is in Sever Hall, and that your section didn’t change in the past 24 hours. There’s a sense of familiarity gained — you’ve solidified the route that you take in between your classes, and now you know how late you can realistically wake up and still get to class on time, and just cut it close enough.

Sections are also already fully underway. Any new section crushes? I bet so. After settling in, you’re now able to smile at people you recognize in your new classes, which just makes you feel so effortlessly cool to be so well-acquainted with your campus peers. And for my type-A GCal addicts, you’ve finally found yourself in a steady groove in which you can happily stay afloat. Overall, you’re well past the first-week jitters, and everything is falling back into place. The calendar is packed, but with fun catch-up lunches and nights out in the square to add some liveliness to the usual psetting and readings you have to do. Taking a stroll through the Yard is also still lovely, and you’ll find yourself taking photos of Widener and Memorial Church as you get to class. You are happy to be back. All is well with the world.

Hate It: Homework… What the funk?

The first week's whimsy has worn off, and being back on campus has lost its novelty. It’s fun to roleplay a cool Harvard student, but it’s not so cool to be buried in readings on the second day, psetting until midnight in (dare I say it) Lamont, and forgetting who exactly you have and haven’t caught up with yet. You may have forgotten over the summer just how much work it truly is to be a Harvard student, but don’t worry, this lovely institution only lets you forget for so long — welcome back!

Speaking of which, you know that class you really liked the first week? Yeah, it’s awful now. The content is boring, and the lack of structure was only fun the first week when it didn’t matter what you were learning. Now you have a reading quiz in the second week on something you vaguely remember being briefly mentioned, because the students speak more than the professor. Oh, and you know that seat you sat on the first day that you so deliberately picked out and enjoyed so much? Some random person has taken it. Or worse, an auditor has taken it. She doesn’t even go here! So you sit a row back and gaze longingly towards where your crush was sitting the week before, only to panic and check the Canvas roster, discovering that they had already switched out of the class. But don’t worry; maybe you’ll find another section crush in the 9:00 a.m. section you were just placed in against your will. It’s okay, a routine will build eventually — just probably not this week. You’re still fighting for your life while adjusting to the Harvard lifestyle again.

Whether you love it or hate it, you are back nonetheless. Your friends at flyby hope that the sectioning Gods (your TF) bless you with good times, and that the cluzz (class Huzz) is bountiful. And remember, no matter how gloomy the days are turning as midterms inevitably begin to creep into your life, there will always be a flyby article waiting for you to read in the morning — you’re welcome.