College is a time of change for everyone. It brings the best times in your life, as well as the worst. You get your first taste of adulthood, making every decision on what you eat, what you wear, what you do, and who you hang out with. College is largely where people find who they really are. But, what better way to find out than to do what everyone else is doing? Succeeding this introduction is a list of essentials: the things that every Emerson College student needs to succeed, and, more importantly, be cool.

Note: this list is based off of two months of observation and shouldn’t be taken seriously by anyone.

Macbook

Take a look around your classroom, or the Iwasaki library. Guaranteed, you’ll see the tables and desks filled with people on their Macbooks. Who can blame them? This thousand-dollar-plus piece of machinery is the top choice among filmmakers and other forms of media-makers. Moreover, there’s no better way to not pay attention in class. This bad Larry can connect to an iPhone, so you can text, or surf the web, but look like your taking notes. Back in my day, we had to space out the old way: just staring off into nothing. Oh, how times have changed.

A Pair of Beat Up Chucks

Nothing screams “cool kid” like the classic, flimsy, and wholly unsupportive Converse All-Star shoes. If you don’t have any yet, don’t worry. You can get a new pair and make them look old really fast. Rub them in mud, cut a hole in them, literally beat them with a hammer or something. The color, however, isn’t important, though you can never go wrong with good ol’ black and white.

Trendy Backpack

Fjallraven is taking college campuses by storm. Running at a measly $75, students can carry their school supplies in style. But it doesn’t stop there. Whether it’s Nikon, Vans, J. Crew, you name it, money should be no object for an accessory strapped on your shoulders and subsequently thrown on the floor when you flop into your unassigned assigned seat in class.

Emerson College Swag

Coming generally in the form of, but not limited to, sweatshirts, what’s the point of going to college if no one knows where you go? It’s even helped me. I was convinced a gentleman in one of my classes went to Suffolk University until he came to class with an Emerson College sweatshirt on. Then it all made sense.

Pretentious Attitude

I showed up to an audition earlier this semester and was greeted coolly. I was told that, “[I] don’t fit the age range for the characters”. The age range being late-twenties to early-thirties for the main, and mid-teens for the rest of the cast. My first question was, “then why are you advertising on a college campus?” I stepped back though and realized I needed to be like this guy. The trick, I’ve learned, is to be so pompous and overly confident in your work. So what if nobody sees it? It’s not your fault they don’t understand your genius.

This list can be applied to pretty much any college in the nation. But, this is by no means a definitive list. Any additions or criticisms are entirely welcome. My only intention is to help all those in need with expert tips on keeping it real in college.