The Brief: Students are expressing their dread for the end of summer and the upcoming school year in back to school memes.

DEEP DIVE
Goodbye summer vacation and hello back to school season! It’s August and for many students around the world, that means it’s time to start prepping for the start of the school year. As Gen-Z’ers are known to do, many students are venting about the impending start of school through back to school memes and social media posts.
While some memes explore the positives of starting the school year, many others lament the upcoming end of summer szn. Common topics include summer reading, strict dress codes, social pressures, and trying to savor the last day of summer.
How VSCO girls start the school year:
professor: for the first day i'm just gonna go over the syllabus
white girl in planner:
ππππΉπΆπ π
β’ πππΎππ ππππ πππππΆπ·ππ— IG: @itssdarwinn (@itssdarwinn) March 21, 2019
No matter your age, this is a big mood for the start of school:
Many back to school memes illustrate the alarming and haunting experience of seeing back to school ads when you’re still trying to soak up the last days of summer…
On TikTok, the hashtag #backtoschool has been viewed over 375 million times.
Back to school commercials vs. Hot Girl Summer
Trying to enjoy my hot girl summer but these back-to-school commercials got me like… pic.twitter.com/LqgG8z4ic5
— Scotty Dynamo (@scottydynamo) August 7, 2019
Watch out, the first day of the school year can sneak up on you!
Who else is just on a computer during the summer break? from dankmemes
The βI know summer isnβt THAT long but Iβve really grown up since thenβ back to school starter pack. from starterpacks
A Lisa Simpson presenting / Area 51 back to school meme:
Seniors vs. Juniors vs. Sophomores vs. Freshmen on the first day of school:
A display of the shrinking number of school supplies this TikToker will be taking to school as the year goes on: