It's that time of year again. Freshman and returning students are getting ready to embark on their journey back to college. I, a college sophomore, have been asked more times that I can count on both hands the cardinal question everyone asks around this time of year: "What should I take with me to college?" Mostly I reply with, "not too much, not too little," or "just the essentials," but on my way back home from my college town, I really thought about the question. What are the things you should take with you to college, besides books, paper and pencils? It took a lot of thinking, but I believe every person should bring four things to college with them: An open heart, a discerning mind, rock solid motivation and a good attitude.

An open heart.

I don't know about some returning sophomores, but my first year of college was one of the hardest and most heart-wrenching experiences I had ever been through. I went to a college where no one I knew was attending. This means I literally had to start over–my friend group, my support system, my spiritual temple, everything. Any student going to college needs to know that they will have to open their hearts to new people and new experiences. The new church you try will not feel just like the one you attend at home. You will not be as comfortable with the new friends you make as you were with your old ones at home. Dating new people will never be like when you had good times with your ex. Have an open heart while back at school.

A discerning mind.

My freshman year of college, I was in the deep depths of a toxic friendship with my freshman roommate. She was vicious. She was my friend one week and felt like my enemy the next. You must learn to discern people and situations. You can't be everyone's friend, even though you were in high school. You need to realize that being at that house party with everyone underage drinking and smoking is probably not the best place to be, unless you're willing to suffer the consequences. You must think logically and be able to discern whether or not you want to associate with the people around you, and whether or not you want to be in the situations you find yourself in every once in a while.

Solid motivation.

College can be hard and sometimes motivation doesn't come as easily as you think it will. You must create your own motivation and, at times, you have to fake it until you make it. You will be tempted to sleep in, but you can only miss so much class before they drop you and not completing that homework assignment because you were out at a frat party all night could be the difference between keeping and losing your scholarship. Whether it's getting out of your small town or pleasing your parents, find something that motivates you and place it right in front of your eyes, so that it guides you during your time in college.

A good attitude.

Cliché, I know, but a good attitude can sometimes make or break your day. If you don't have a good attitude going into your life experiences, they will never turn out anything but negatively. Plus, you need a good attitude to maintain an open heart, a discerning mind and solid motivation. If you go into everything thinking it will end badly, it will.

Does this answer your question on what you should take with you to college? It may not be paper and pencils, books and bedding, but finding components that can positively impact your life is just as important as that textbook for sociology or that lab manual for biology.