School Supplies:

First Semester

You have a brand new notebook and folder for every class, your desk is filled with cute post-it notes, paper clips, and every other variation of impractical stationary found in the office supply aisle at Target. In your heart, you know you’ll use all of it too.

Second Semester

You have turned your notebooks from last semester upside down and are writing in them back to front, hoping you won’t run out of paper. It’s three weeks into classes and you still haven’t bought two of your required textbooks. Required can mean a lot of things depending on interpretation and your bank account balance. You have a single pen somewhere maybe. You still haven’t touched the paper clips you bought in August.

Your Room:

First Semester:

All summer, you spent countless hours on Pinterest curating the perfect aesthetic for your dorm room. You decorated your walls with charming photos and posters and made sure your bed is sufficiently cozy via excessive amounts of blankets and pillows. Your desk looks like it belongs on the Instagram account of someone way more artsy and cool than you. Your bed is always made, and you clean your room on a regular basis.

Second Semester:

You haven’t made your bed in weeks. It’s lofted. It’s not like anyone can see it anyways. You have dirty dishes from days ago sitting on your desk. Your notebooks, textbooks, loose papers, old exams, coupons you got in the mail, flyers, and other random nonsense have piled up in various spots in your room. You’ve been telling yourself for months that you’ll clean up tomorrow.

Your Appearance:

First Semester:

Every night, you pick the clothes you’re going to wear the next day. Every outfit is perfectly coordinated and planned. You wake up a little earlier in the morning to do your hair and put on makeup.

Second Semester:

You wake up at 8:45 for your 9 a.m. classes, roll out of bed, change your pants, brush your teeth, and walk to class. You haven’t washed your hair in days. You just throw your hair into a bun and hope nobody looks too closely at you as you shuffle down the street to your lecture hall. You haven’t put on makeup in months. If you somehow manage wear leggings instead of sweatpants you consider it dressing up.

Making Plans:

First Semester:

Between school, work, and clubs you still find time to see your friends every day. Your weekends are filled with activity, and you make sure to attend every event and hangout you hear about.

Second Semester:

You haven’t seen another human in 24 hours, and you haven’t had a full night’s sleep since winter break. All you want to do on the weekends is nap. Your friends wonder if you dropped out of school. Someone asks if you want to get dinner off-campus tonight. You say you’ve already made plans and promptly go back to sleep.