‘Can I go home now?’: 23 Student Memes Reporting for Back-to-School Duty Against Their Will

Cata Holmes • Writer

Sep 5, 2026 8:30 AM EDT

Summer brain is officially being forced back into academic mode.

Some people like the back-to-school season, and others hate it. I'm more in between. When I was a student, I was always excited to go back to class. I've always been a good student, but besides that, I've always liked the school vibes: being with my friends all day, going to the cafeteria for lunch, and coming home after a long day to rest and do some homework. There's something about that routine that I really enjoyed.

But I understand that my case is not everyone's position.

I had friends who didn't like going back-to-school at all. On the total opposite: it took them a while to get settled in and to be mindful about paying attention in class, bringing all their supplies and things like that… they still had their minds on relaxing and being on the beach, and couldn't bear to listen to a long lecture for hours. But since they didn't have another choice, eventually they got back into the groove of it.

The thing that helped them the most was that everything was related to the back-to-school season. Every supply store, clothing store, grocery store, shopping mall… everything had a back-to-school sign that let you know that it was time to get things done… and I think that really set their mood and made them realize that, even though they were still in vacation mode, they had to put their students' brains in and get to class.

And to add to that, I think student memes are a good way of remembering what time of year it is, but making it fun and more relaxed. The thing that makes memes so fun is how relatable they can be, and that's why they speak to so many people. They can be very personal to others and describe situations that only a few may understand, while others are more general but still feel relatable to the majority of people.

If you're the one who still can't get your head around the fact that it's back-to-school season, then indulge in the following collection of student memes that you might enjoy.