Everyone always says that a lot of the habits you have in high school won’t fly in college. And so far, that’s been true–at least for me, anyways. Here are six habits that I’ve picked up since becoming a “college girl”:

1. Going to bed early.

“Early to bed, early to rise,” right? Having a class at 8:30 a.m. every morning means I can’t be up super late, so I’ve taken up falling asleep between 11:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. And while that may not sound super early, it’s considerably better than my high school habit of going to bed at 3:00 a.m. or later.

2. Eating breakfast.

Once again, the 8:30 a.m. classes are the main reason for me picking up this habit. Whether it’s a simple poptart or ordering from Einstein's Bagels (I usually get a plain bagel with plain "shmear" – boring, I know), I make sure I eat breakfast because there’s nothing quite as awkward as trying to mask the sound of your growling stomach in a dead quiet lecture hall.

3. Talking to my parents.

Not that I didn’t talk to my parents before, but when I was living at home the extent of our conversations was usually me saying “I’m going to [place], bye” and my parents asking a variety of questions regarding my plans. However, since starting college, our conversations have become lengthier during our weekly Skype calls. We catch up on what’s happened over the week, and when they ask how classes are going, I try to give more of an answer than, “They’re fine.”…the weekly Skype calls are nice; we don’t argue.

4. Working out at the gym.

In high school, I was a part of the cheerleading team, so that was my twice weekly workout – which was enough to keep me in shape. Since I am no longer cheerleading, I’ve started going to the gym on campus twice a week with a friend to stay fit…ss well as feel less guilty about eating from the campus Chick-Fil-A.

5. Starting assignment prior to the night before they’re due.

And finally, since starting college, I’ve been less of a procrastinator when it comes to my assignments (notes, homework, lab write-ups, online quizzes, etc..). In high school, I did everything the night before (or, to be honest, sometimes the day of – oops) I’ve started beginning my assignments three days before they’re due. And, instead of just doing the whole thing in one sitting, I’ve been breaking it up into smaller chunks. As a result, I’ve been less stressed.

6. Doing my laundry on a weekly basis.

Back home my mom (love you – thanks so much) would do our laundry as long as we brought it down to the laundry room. I would try to bring mine down once a week… It ended up being like every week and a half (or longer). But now, I do my own laundry every Tuesday around 1:00 p.m. Hooray for being a responsible person!

Luckily, all of the habits I’ve picked up have been healthier than the ones I had in high school…for now. We’ll see how long these last.