The calm before the storm

The day before classes can be very stressful indeed. Sitting with time on your hands and plenty of opportunity to worry, it can be quite nerve racking. I found myself freaking out about everything from what I would wear to how I would act. The whole process was completely exhausting and definitely not productive. Eventually though here's what I figured out:

The day before classes start really is the calm before the storm. It is a time when you should be doing everything possible to prepare for the day ahead. Meet up with some of your new friends or head out with your roommate. Take some time to explore the campus and plot out your course from one class to another. If the doors to the buildings are open go in and find your room and places in the building where you could hole up and study when you have some spare time before or after class. Those are precious minutes that you wouldn't want to waste. Get comfortable and get a good night's sleep. And don't forget to shower!

Stop, drop, and go!

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday, but as I'm a college student giving you my advice as I experience each new thing, I'll be honest. I was a little overwhelmed. Yesterday was move in day for me and about 10,000 other students who will now all call this campus their home. Move in day was the equivalent of a campus Black Friday. There were more people than space, overworked helpers, and soccer moms in jeans and sneakers determined to get what they wanted. Now that I've had a little time to recover I'll give you the few tips I have to help make the move in process a little easier the next time around.

Don't be worried about what you stuff looks like. Maybe this was a personal problem, but I was worried that people would judge me for my boxes with stuffed animals, my awkward suitcase, and my overstuffed backpack. However, once your stuff is thrown on the lawn with hundreds of other people's dearest belongings it doesn't seem nearly as scary.

Next, wear comfortable clothes. I know, this is your first chance to make an appearance and to wow your fellow classmates with your style or whatever, but you're going to need to be able to haul your stuff up stairs, set up a loft, and do some overall very physical work.

Plan to go out to eat once everything is in your room. This is perhaps one of the most important things you can do. For me, going out to Pita Pit with my parents gave us a chance to decompress after a very long and stressful morning.

Make a last quick trip to Target, Wal-mart, or Pamida. This step is key. Yes, when our band of three made it through the doors of Target it looked like World War III, but there's a reason. You're going to have forgotten stuff. For me, it was a pillow, my bike, and a fan. All completely essential for campus life. All around us other's were doing the same things, buying forgotten items and stocking their carts with snacks and goodies for the rest of the year.

Me shopping at Target. Thanks for the creeper pic mom.

And don't worry! After a long day of buying stuff, and hauling stuff, and organizing stuff your day will end with a wonderful result.

Three Days Out

If you're a normal human being who will be going to college for the first time in three days, I doubt you feel like you need advice on how to spend your remaining time. However, if you're me, an individual who's social life is basically non-existant in the summer, waiting out the final three days can be one of the hardest parts of your pre-college life. Either way, my advice is the same for both parties:

"Do things that make you feel good." This could be hanging out with your pals, spending quality time with the fam, or taking an extra long bath. If you're me, it means sleeping in until 1 PM, going for a motorcycle ride, and hitting up Barnes and Noble. Either way, the result is the same, you feel good and have a smile on your face.

"Keep busy." This means, if you have a job, work all your hours. If you have chores or responsibilities in your household, keep up with them. If your mom asks you to take a day trip to visit you great-grandma Gretchen, go for it. The less you have to do, the more time will drag and that will make these final three days feel like two weeks.

"If all else fails, occupy yourself." If life's obligations don't seem to be keeping you busy (as is the case for me) occupy yourself in anyway you can. I took up knitting and became best friends with my 30 day free trial of Netflix.

Oh yea. And I started a blog.

Prepping for prep.

Consider this a formal introduction to this little project. 

This is a blog.

Duh. But hopefully it will become more than that in time. I mean, let's be real. If I can keep this up for more than the first month of college, it will hopefully be something truly worthwhile. Each day, my goal is to post some tip or piece of advice for surviving life on campus, or life as a college student, or even just life as a human being.

A disclaimer: I am not a college expert. In fact, I'm a college freshman. I'm freakin' livin' this journey as I go, I'm simply recording it too. Why not? I like writing. I like feeling productive. I like ... this. I don't know. No promises. I make no guarantees that this will survive the semester. But what I do know, is that I'm going to try.

Since I'm not an expert, and I am a busy (or soon to be) college student. PLEASE send in any tips or advice you think others should know. The more the merrier.

With the hope of starting off this blog on the right foot, I'll share with you the only advice I have at the moment.

"When you're five days out from changing your zipcode, living conditions, and life in general, prepare for some sleepless nights."

Move in day is on Saturday. Get ready to splash onto the scene.