The time is quickly winding down. Summer is coming to a close. You can deny it, dread the end of the warm months and wish the semester away, but that won't truly change anything. School will be starting before we know it, so you might as well prepare and make these last few weeks the best they can be! Here are 12 things to do before school starts.
1. Finish binge-watching your latest Netflix obsession.
You can do this once the semester starts, but it becomes slightly more difficult, and you can't do it quite so recklessly. Right now, you can binge watch Shameless for eight hours on a Sunday with limited worries. Once school starts, however, you can binge watch Shameless for eight hours on a Sunday with many worries.
2. Create a list of goals for the upcoming semester.
Create mental goals (i.e. to make yourself happy or to not be so critical of yourself), physical goals (i.e. to go to the gym regularly or to eat healthier) and school-related goals (to achieve a particular grade point average or to not procrastinate). Think of everything you'd like to achieve, then write it down. Writing down your goals is key.
3. Construct a schedule for yourself.
Print out your class schedule and figure out when you're going to incorporate hobbies, going to work, homework, working out or whatever consumes your time.
4. Combine #2 and #3, and work them into your planner.
Hint: "Keep up with this planner" is a very useful goal to write on page 1.
5. Go out with your friends.
Go to the movies, get ice cream, grab something to eat or go to happy hour. Get dressed up, take squad pictures and have a great night. You can still do this once the semester starts, but the opportunities won't be as abundant.
6. Make the most of your evenings.
They'll be filled with homework, paper-writing and crunch-time studying all too soon.
7. Spend time with your family.
If your school is a decent distance from home, you'll miss your family. Sure, there's FaceTime, and you can visit, but it's not quite the same. You don't truly realize how vital your family is to you until you don't live under the same roof anymore.
8. Spend time with your pets at home.
The same rule for #7 applies here, except it could arguably be more extreme (sorry Mom and Dad). Plus, FaceTime really doesn't do the trick. You need to hold them and you need them to cuddle you. They can't do this while you're away at school; cherish these few final weeks of puppy love.
9. Stay up late for no reason...
This will prepare you for the nights when you do have a reason (i.e. homework, exams or when you're behind because you didn't listen to my hint in #4).
10...but also get some sleep.
I know this may be somewhat difficult if you listen to #1, #5, #6 and #9, and I'm contradicting myself in regard to #9, but take advantage of any opportunity to sleep in late while you still can.
11. Go shopping.
Stock up on cute pens, mechanical pencils, new stickers for your laptop, binders and folders. Grab some tasty K-Cups so you can make your own coffee and save a little money. Oh, and while you're at it, you might as well grab a cute new coffee cup or two, since you're saving money and all.
12. Get ready for a bomb semester.
Now you're all set! Prepare yourself for a goal-accomplishing, fun, hardworking yet rewarding semester.
