First Day of School

Hello!

The first day of school is coming up fast! It feels like the summer just began and now all we have to look forward too is tugging heavy backpacks and writing notes until your hand hurts.

My first day of classes is August 18, which is about a month away. Yikes!

With that said I have so much to do until that date. There are so many things that you need in order be be successful not only in school but especially on that first day. I've been looking through blogs and other websites on how to prepare myself for the school year. I have a pinterest board specifically for school. It includes dorm stuff, study tips and bit of style. I'm constantly adding to it and referencing it. The most important thing I have learned from pins on pintrest is that the picture on the pin is only half the story. Always click on the picture and trace it back to the link. There will either be the most helpful webpage in the history of the internet or a tumblr page. Choose carefully. Unless it's an info graphic. I absolutely love info graphics!

I plan to write many posts about school and the college life. There's no way I will be able to fit everything about college into just one post.

For this post, I will just give a little introduction about my school.

First of all, I'm going to Illinois State University in the fall. Go Redbirds! I don't quite know what my major will be but I would like some sort of science major. I love science and I've always been good at math so it just seems natural.

Last year, however, I was attending the University of Iowa. It was a great experience and I absolutely loved it! It was not only a great school but a fun school as well. Of course, I'm sure that you're wondering why I'm not going there anymore. Well, college is expensive. There were somethings that happened that made it more difficult to pay for college and the only option for me was to transfer. I appreciate all the opportunities that Iowa gave me and I have enjoyed my stay.

Iowa was great. The tailgating though has to be my favorite. It was difficult getting up every saturday morning at 7 am, but when we got there, it was all worth it. Tailgating will never be the same at any other school and I will have to go back and visit for sure! The old capitol was so pretty. I took numerous pictures of it and do not regret any of them.

However, the school just didn't fit me all the way. I loved it and I have great memories. But there were some things that I didn't like. Like the distance, I had to go everyday to class. I lived in Mayflower. A decision my roommate made and I thought it could work out but I hated taking the bus everyday to get anywhere. And the busses didn't run until noon on weekends. I think that if i could've lived in a dorm closer it would have been better. Also, my roommate wasn't the best. She got really annoying. 

Moral of the short story is that college is based on your experience and only your experience. It doesn't matter how much fun your friends older sister had and how much your family friend loved the school, maybe you will hate it, and that's ok. And in college, there's a lot more going on than what orientation tells you. There's not only school that you have to worry about but also your roommate, your friends, your weekend plans, and then parents. They try to tell you what it will be like, but you will never know until you experience it yourself.

And don't forget money. College is expensive! And it's not getting any cheaper. Just because you could've gone to Starbucks everyday after school in high school, it's probably not gonna be a good idea to do that in college. You have to pay for everything. Your books, food, and recreation. 

Books are expensive. So do what ever you can to not spend your life savings on books that you will probably use once. 

So before buying books from your university bookstore:

• Check your booklists for classes
• Some textbooks are only recommended. Others are required. If you would like to get the recommended books then go ahead! I do admit that they have the power to help if you use them correctly.
• Ask if you can buy them from a friend or a classmate
• They probably want to get it of their back ASAP so this is great if you need something fast. 
• Check slugbooks.com 
• I absolute love this site for books. You just enter the ISBN number and they check other sites and show you the cheapest to buy, rent and ebook. 
• Lastly if you have exhausted all other options and you can't find the book anywhere you just might have to buy it from the bookstore
• This might include lab notebooks, lab supplies, and special circumstances. 

Food goes bad eventually. Its inevitable. 

• Only buy what you will actually eat. 
• That awesome soup that your best friend loves will probably gather dust in the cabinet until move out day.
• Check expiration dates.
• It'll go bad and stink up the place and you will end up throwing out $20 worth of food because you didn't eat it in time.
• Try to make it to an actual grocery store.
• Buying groceries constantly from the convince store will add up. And they don't have a selection like a grocery store would. 

Recreation will be what you make of it. However you don't need to spend $50 each weekend to have fun.

• Don't buy tickets to the sports event unless you are going there for a special reason or something
• And If you do want to go. Buy from another student. They will sell it to you cheaper then the box office or school.
• On a different note. For special events do buy the student ticket. Or for anything you're going to buy, ask if they have a student discount. 
• A lot of stores have special student discounts, and so do attractions like movies and such. All you need is your student ID!
• When you go out, try not to buy things that are unnecessary. That extra pretzel might not be worth it in the morning.
• Also when going out, if you are a girl, try to get a drink instead of buying one. It's a secret girl code that you can use to your advantage. 
• And try to not take a cab. Walk, take the bus, call the safety ride that the school provides. And if you really have to take a cab take it with friends.

Alright! I hope that helps you with your college adventure!

Julija