And Preparation for Back to School Begins...

Sorry to spring back to school nonsense on you when there's at a least a month before that happens, but a month is not as much time as we think it is unfortunately. Every time I look at the calendar and try to plan things out, I truly realize how much time has passed. I mean, I've been home for two months now. TWO MONTHS. What? So we're talking about all of those things that are nice to have lined up and ready to go before the end of August hits and you're scrambling and rummaging through all of the reject school supplies and necessities that everyone has already picked through.

School supply shopping is actually one of my favorite activities and I'm legitimately sad that I don't get to do it anymore. Sure, I could buy this stuff for fun or a job or something but it doesn't serve the same purpose and for that I am sad. I am not sad, however, about not going back to school. Sorry folks. I paid my dues and served my time. For all my fellow peeps who are going back to school though, whether it's college or not, here's my guidance on some must-haves before the big day.

Do I even need to say what the first thing I think everyone needs is? I think I've made this statement at least six hundred times on this blog and I refuse to stop being so passionate about it. Get an agenda, homies. I would scream from the rooftops about how much I love agendas, which says a lot because rooftops sound like my actual worst nightmare because, uh, heights? For real though, get an agenda, whether it's a $60000 Erin Condren planner, a mid-range Ban.do planner, a $7 from Target, or even a notebook that cost you a buck that you organized into daily calendars. It doesn't matter what you use or really how you use it, but I highly recommend some sort of agenda that you can carry around with you on a daily basis to keep track of, well, anything. I kept track of school assignments and deadlines and what not, but I also used the overview calendar to keep track of when I worked and babysat and any dates I found important.

But Fran, why can't I do it digitally? You could, but how are you supposed to take aesthetically pleasing Instagram pictures of your agenda with a caption about how busy you are and that it's the only thing that keeps you sane? HOW?!

This next one, I suppose, is totally optional but I have no idea how anyone would function without at least something to write on. Admittedly, I was in a smaller group of people who handwrite their notes for every class, even classes where we were allowed computers. I love to handwrite notes. I won't pay attention to anything coming out of my professors' mouths unless I'm writing it down. LOL, sorry professors, not that any of you are reading this. You're going to come across professors (they're usually old, sorry not sorry) who aren't chill with having computers out, so if you don't at least have a notebook and some writing utensils, you're just SOL. I personally prefer cute or colorful notebooks and pens that cost $20 instead of the usual two or three, but you know, that's your preference I suppose. I invest in school supplies like I invest in...I don't know. I don't invest in anything. I just like to spend money.

There are ways around this one if money is tight (I get it, I do), but having your own computer or laptop in college is kind of unavoidable. If you have a desktop computer at home, that's completely fine, especially if you keep track of your assignments either on Google Drive, DropBox, a flash drive, really anything that you could access on campus if necessary. If you do have a laptop, I'd recommend bringing it to campus, just because it's nice to have during breaks so you can get some work done during your free time. I still recommend keeping all of your important files on some kind of sharing site though because if you're in a pinch and don't have access to your home computer or laptop at the time, you can always log into campus computers and do what you need to do.

This is the one thing that I didn't do on campus enough and honestly, my body and skin let me know it wasn't happy for me. I walked to campus and the idea of carrying around a water bottle or buying one on campus just to recycle seemed cumbersome and then silly. So, for this reason, I basically dehydrated myself on campus and left all of my water drinking for the few hours I was home. DUMB, SO DUMB. Y'all, just bring a water bottle to campus. It doesn't have to be a massive reusable one, they make smaller ones that won't take up a huge amount of space. I know my campus had specific water bottle refilling fountains, but really, any water fountain will work when you drink through your bottle. Your skin and body will thank you later, trust me.

And here's where I get real lame and stuff. Bring a good attitude back to school with you. It's easy (seriously, so easy) to be negative about going back to school. Yes, giving up your freedom that you had all summer sucks. It's not fun to pay for classes that you might not necessarily like. The workload is heavy and trying to manage it all is hard. I find that the more you fight against yourself and embrace this negativity, the harder it is to get by. The motivation you had dissipates and then the procrastination sets in and the emotions are high. This also isn't just about the attitude you have about school, but your presence on campus too. Bring a good attitude to your classes. You don't have to agree with or have the same beliefs as everyone, but you have to respect that not everyone believes in the same things as you and vice versa.

Oh, also, brings snacks, because food on campus is expensive and sucks and you're inevitably going to get hungry while you're there.