It's winding down to those last precious days of summer vacation before we all have to return back to college. My summer job just ended, and I have a long list of things I have to do before I go back to school. If it's your first time going to college, or you're going back for your third year, here are some tips to get you ready for the school year.
1. Start waking up earlier.
While the idea of treasuring those last few weeks of sleep is good in reality, if you're going to have 8 am classes, you're going to need to be awake. Start getting up earlier now so that your body can adjust to the new schedule.
2. Get organized.
In high school I would label all of my notebooks and folders a few days before school started. I don't do that in college because on the first day professors will tell you they hate shiny purple binders and never want to see one in their classroom again. Now you have false sharpie writing all over your favorite binder. I do, however, try to start packing what I can. This includes clothes, sheets and a comforter, all of my desk stuff, movies, etc.
3. Decide what you have space for in your room, eliminate what you don't.
I've helped with two move-in days and will be helping with another one soon. It absolutely amazes me how much faith people have in the university. They believe they will be given spacious accommodations when in reality, you're given a closet that you have to share with another person. If it's your first time at college, you might bring too much. I definitely did. My advice is to send whatever is crowding up your room home with your parents on move in day. The next time you go home will likely be fall break, and you don't want to bang your knee on a bookshelf every morning that is in the middle of the room just because you have nowhere else to put it.
4. Decide what items that are made "for college kids" are actually worth buying.
A bedside caddy is really convenient. A bowl that you can microwave pasta in will probably never be used considering Easy Mac and ramen already lets you do that. A laundry hamper is a must-have, a first aid kit specific to college students will likely be raided for band-aids and then tossed. Mattress toppers add a nice layer of comfort to hard dorm beds, wall stickers are not allowed in dorm rooms as they can peel the paint off of the walls. Some "college kid stuff" is a rip off, don't be susceptible. Think about what you really will use or enjoy and make sure it complies with the rules of your university.
5. Clean out your phone, computer, and car.
I just got a new car, so it's not messy yet. My phone and laptop are, however, running low on storage because of saved snapchats from last year that I won't miss but haven't yet brought myself to delete. You will be glad that your phone has space when Harry Potter Go comes out and everyone on campus is playing. You will be glad your computer has space when you're trying to save an 11 page paper at 11:45 that is due at 11:59. You will be glad your car has space and doesn't look like total trash when you drive yourself and new friends to Zaxbys for their college student discount day. These are things you might not appreciate now, but you will appreciate later!
6. Talk to your roommate.
Whether they're a new roommate or someone you've been living with, it's always good to go over who is bringing what and who has access to the newest season of Game of Thrones. It lessens the tension on that first night when you discover or remember that they yell at you in their sleep. You will have already broken the ice and gained the knowledge that if you deal with their peculiar sleep disorder, you can watch every season whenever you want.
7. Don't try to be a new person.
This one is something that goes against the "college dream" idea. Lots of people say when you go off to college you can reinvent yourself. This is true. Nobody has to know what a nerd you were in high school in a college that enrolls 10x the number of people who were in your graduating class. The thing is, just like high school there are groups and cliques in college. The skaters will still hang out with the skaters, the video gamers will play each other, the Harry Potter fanatics will join the Quidditch club.
I think one of the most important pieces of advice I can give anyone who is going into college is to be real. If you were a nerd in high school you should own that. It's who you are, and in college people are a lot less concerned about keeping up appearances to become prom queen and a lot more concerned with passing exams and keeping their pet fish alive. College is a more fluid place. While there are, as I already mentioned, your usual cliques that will hang out with each other, the groups also mix together. The skaters might be on the Quidditch team as well. The video gamers might go throw a football around with the preppy kids. In college, while you will have your "group," you'll also have your school. If you win a football game you celebrate as a united school and if a beloved staff member gets sick you pray for their recovery as a school. When you go to college, you're joining a family. Don't try to be pretend you're somebody you're not. Be real. Be you.
8. Get some rest.
This goes against point one, but go ahead and rest up. Maybe go to bed early so you can still wake up early. Spend a day watching Netflix. College will be insane. You will always feel like you could have gotten five more hours of sleep. Summer is your time to recharge, so if you've been working and didn't have time to recharge then, now is your chance.
These are just a few tips I have about getting ready for college. In reality, the experience is going to be incredibly different for each person. Maybe you're super accident prone and need that college first aid kit. Maybe there are some things about yourself you need to change before going to college. That's fine. The thing about college is, it's a growing up experience. You have to decide what you're going to do and how you're going to do it. You have to decide what you need, what you want, and how you will afford all of it. To quote my elementary school: "Make it a great year or not, the choice is yours!"
