It's here. The fall semester has begun, and your freedom has ended. The days are too muggy for sweatpants, but the classrooms are too cold for shorts. The seats are packed and you struggle to see the board. It is time to go back to school.
The worst part of back to school is the parking. You spend hours circling the lots, hoping for a spot to magically appear. You gradually move to the outer lots, occasionally eyeing the "reserved spots," wondering if your 8:30 class is worth a ticket. You surrender, and park in the extra lot, walking a mile and a half to your first class. Arrive with sweaty arms.
Walk into your first class. See the five people you spent your whole summer break trying to avoid. You try to sneak past them, but at the last minute they get you with the "oh my gosh, is that you? We haven't seen you all Summer!" You smile and pretend that wasn't your intention, and end up sitting next to them all semester. You vow to avoid them over winter break.
Back to School time is no breeze for anyone. However, there are a few ways to make it a little easier.
The first way is to be organized. There is no one absolute to this, everyone works differently. Maybe this means having a different binder for every class. It could mean having one big binder with lots of dividers. You might be the laptop-toter, with a google drive folder for each subject.
Another is to keep positive. Spill coffee on your shirt? That's OK, you were looking to get a new one anyways. Someone driving cut you off and steal your spot? Walking is good for you. Lose your paper when your power went out? Sometimes rewriting makes your words seem more concise.
The third is to give yourself time. As the old saying goes: Rome wasn't built in a day. Don't cram all your homework to five minutes before it is due, you're more likely to make mistakes. Don't woof down your dinner when you can always eat on the shuttle ride to class, you get fewer bellyaches that way. Don't expect to grasp all concepts immediately. No one is perfect at everything, and believing you have to be only hurts your educational confidence.
Good luck with back to school. I hope you can get something out of these tips. Feel free to leave your tips in the comments too!
