These past few days have been really fun! I can't believe that I am back at Dominican University of California again. I have been able to see most of my friends again and it has been so awesome being able to catch up with them and see what they did over the summer. We all have different stories to tell but we still have common elements throughout our summers. I love how we all still break out into fits of laughter over things that happened in the last school year. It's like no time has changed with my friends, we all are right back to messing with each other and having really long meals together.

I am really excited for this coming year. As it turns out I only have classes on two days a week. Which means I have a lot of down time. Which I'm happy and sad about. I'm happy that I only have to go to classes for two days but then that means that I really only have one day to do all my homework for all my classes before the next class period. My classes seem really easy right now but I know that they will get harder as more time goes by. My advice on how to deal with the workload as it gets harder and more jam packed is some simple tips.

Everyone should have a planner, my school handed them out to us as me moved into the dorms. Then in this planner students should write down all important dates for the semester, like due dates for papers, when the midterm for the class is, test dates, and basically anything important that the professor has in a bold font on the class schedule and class syllabus. Also I know that as freshman students we had special events that were mandatory, so those should also go into the planner and if the student has a job, work hours should be put in to make sure that you don't become over scheduled for anything. My planner is like my life line at school, I make sure that anything I am scheduled for goes in there. This way I am organized and I can look at my month and know when I am free and when I am not.

Another really good thing to do is to take breaks. When you get really stressed, the best thing to do is to walk away. Just save what you are doing and either move on to something else or take a break for school work but just remember to go back and finish. This strategy works really well especially if you are stuck in what ever you are doing. Sometimes when I stuck while writing a paper I take a break from it and come back with a fresh new mind.

My last tip is to listen to music while studying but not music with lyrics. If you are listen to music with lyrics then you listen to the lyrics and don't focus on what you are studying. I like to listen to piano orchestrations, Beethoven, anything that doesn't have words. This helps you focus more because you aren't focusing on the sounds around you or the lack of sounds. I found a lot of this type of music at home and put in onto my phone so I have it where ever I go.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2016-2017 school year and that everyone does great!