It’s been a lovely summer. I’m living in my favorite city in the world, writing at The Frisky, living with my boyfriend, and relaxing in the Berkshires on the weekends. All is fine, dandy, and I’m as easy and breezy as a cover girl…until I see a new email in my inbox. As soon as I open it, the walls around my perfect summer start to crumble: The season is ending and I’m about to begin graduate school. In Scotland. Cue multiple panic attacks.

Do I know anybody? Nope. Have I any clue where I am going and what am I doing? Eh, no. Will I be smart enough? Will I make any friends? What if people don’t like me? What if I’m not good enough? But wait, I’ve thought all of this before. Truth be told, I have variations of these thoughts all the time, but I’ve had this specific anxiety attack before. In fact, it was the summer before my freshman year of college. If you feel similarly, follow the jump for your coping strategy.

When we get to college, we can get a little carried away. We just got out of our long-ass high school relationships (or else had been anticipating the fabled college slut-fest for basically ever).  Regardless, by the time we’ve unpacked Mr. Snuggle Bug, we’ve already made a list of totally doable prospects. We’re like kids in an eye-candy store!

So how does all of this hooking up actually go down?  I circulated a nosy little survey to find out exactly where, what, and then what...here are my frisky findings: