MON // 5 Tips For Surviving The First Week Of College

This week I am sadly waving goodbye to the freedom of summertime because I heading back to college. I go to a community college about 40 minutes away from my home. I don't have to go away for school, which I consider a plus because school is not my favorite place in the world. Its nice to be able to get away from it at the end of the day. 
The first week, even the second week of class is a HUGE adjustment for many so I wanted to share my personal tips for surviving it all during the big transition. I hope you find that these tips are helpful to you. 

Look Your Best, Feel Your Best: It goes without saying that your appearance can affect your mood. Dress in a way that makes you personally feel good, beautiful and confident! Especially in the first weeks of school. When you dress well you feel swell~ When you dress frumpy you feel grumpy. ( See what I did there, hehe)

Establish The Healthy Habits Now: This first week of school is your "clean slate" per say to start fresh and use the opportunity to form healthy habits that will serve you in the long run as the semester goes on. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep and try to get in the habit of waking up and going to bed at around the same time every night ( Yes, that means weekends) to keep your cycles in balance. Set up a schedule to workout three times a week and get in the habit of eating well, ( Skip the Maru-chan Ramen!) don't skip meals and try to pack healthy snacks to eat in between classes so you don't burn out!  Your body will thank you! 

Buy A Planner: Getting a planner has literally turned my life around when it comes to organization. I write everything down. My assignments, appointments, things to do,etc. You could use your phone or other personal device as a planner also but, I personally need to actively write things down in order to remember to do them. 

Meet New People, Make Connections : During the first week back to college or maybe your first week of college ever is a good time to meet new people and form connections because everyone is in the same "adjustment boat". As a natural introvert I can find branching out a challenge but, networking, is honestly the key to success whether its here in college, or in the future. Making friends with classmates can help when you are in a bind with an assignment or absent and need to be updated on what went down in class. As a commuter and as someone who does not live on campus its harder to socialize. When I do make friends, it makes school feel just a little less lonely.  

Don't Burn Yourself Out, Keep It Simple : You're all geared up the first couple weeks of school, anxiety/excitement is on high intensity mode. You're obsessing over your class syllabus and re-configuring your entire schedule in order for things to fall back in balance. Take it easy, design a way to keep your stress to a minimum otherwise you're going to burn yourself out and all that novelty of being back at school will get old, really fast. Try and ease yourself into the routine. Diving in headfirst is going to give you a headache. Find time to relax and continue to do activites/stuff you enjoyed during summer break. Keep it simple, breathe, be patient with yourself, take everything one step at a time, you'll get there. 

I wish all of you going back to college the best of luck. I start classes TO-day - inhale, exhale- we'll see how everything goes. I hope everyone else is having a great week! Will see you all soon! xoxo

What are your tips for back to school? Leave your answers in the comments below

- A