Finals are almost over, we’re starting to pretend to get over the snow storm at the beginning of April, and it’s just about short-shorts season. In other words, for college students, summer is almost here. In preparation for the warmer months, there are a few things that get me in the mood and ready to enjoy the brief break from winter.

One way you can get started even before vacation starts is to make a plan of the things you want to do when summer happens. Make a list of the places you want to go, things you want to see, and what you want to do. Maybe summer is when you finally have the time to go bike riding or take a trip down to the Cape—or, all you really want to do is sleep. Either way, it’s nice to get hyped up about things and make concrete plans with your friends. I never finish everything on my list, but thinking about going to Six Flags is the number one way to get excited about summer.

Something else that helps is watching movies or listening to music that reminds you of summer. Unfortunately, “The Sandlot” isn’t available for streaming on Netflix right now, but it’s five dollars at Walmart and it’s definitely the quintessential summer movie. Another good one is “Summer School,” which came out in 1987. I have a few summer music playlists; some of it’s jazz and swing, but a lot of it is pop punk (cue refrains of “I hate this town but I love my friends”) and dad rock (so like, Steely Dan). Think about the kind of stuff you’d listen to on a road trip and I think you’re probably all set to make a beach playlist.

Packing up your dorm room is something you’re going to have to do anyway, but it’s fine to take that a step forward and clean out your room. It’s about time to put away all of your winter clothes, so invest in a couple of plastic bins if you don’t have them already and fold up clothes. If you haven’t worn anything in a while or if it doesn’t fit you anymore, get rid of it—and then get excited about all of the new clothes you can buy to fill up the space, since shopping for summer is another way we prepare for it.

Start visualizing summer. It’s almost within grasp, and if you’re lucky you’ll have at least a week before you have to go back to work. Warm weather is almost on us, so let’s get excited!