Having to transition from a fun, relaxing summer to a stressful busy university life can be challenging. Often the first week of being back to university can be exhausting, and it can be difficult to get back into the swing of things. Especially if you are entering your first year of university. Saying goodbye to summer can be heartbreaking, but transitioning into the university life can be really easy, especially if you know certain tips and tricks. I am going to provide you with certain tips and tricks that I have learned over the years, that have helped me create a less stressful environment. Let me first start off by saying do not over think things. If you think that you are going to have a hard time getting back into the swing of things chances are you are going to! Breathe. Simply take each thing one at a time, and do not stress about a bunch of things all at once. The first helpful piece of advice that has helped me to say goodbye to summer easier is getting enough sleep and waking up earlier. If you are a night hawk you are probably thinking, “how the hell am I going to do this?”. I used to be a night hawk a few years back, and usually went to bed around 2 or 3 in the morning each night. I then would proceed to wake up around 12 or 1 in the afternoon, which is a no go. This was extremely awful when I entered back into the university life and could not wake up that late anymore, but proceeded to go to bed in the wee hours of the morning. Not only did I feel absolutely exhausted,but I had to get up early for morning classes. I became tired easily and grumpy as well. I then decided to change my sleeping patterns. By going to bed early at night and waking up earlier each day, I felt more motivated and had more energy. I also became less agitated, and more happy throughout the day. Even simple goals such as “waking up a half an hour earlier each day”, will help you develop a more beneficial sleeping pattern for yourself.
Get Organized- Another helpful tip when transitioning into the university life is to make sure you are organized. There is nothing worse than having to rush on the first day or your classes, and try to get all your stuff organized. Make sure you have your note pads all ready, your pens, your binders and other necessities all ready in your backpack the day before your first day of classes. It also helps to have all your binders labelled with your different courses, so you do not get them all mixed up. Try buying different coloured note pads and binders to make each one stand out better. Do not buy your required textbooks for your courses the first week,as you may not enjoy one of your courses and want to drop it. This saves you a whole lot of money since university textbooks are not cheap by any means.When you are certain that you want to stay in your courses, make sure to stay on top of your required readings. Trust me, falling behind on your readings is not fun, and you will fall behind in your class. Take the half hour or hour out of your day to set aside time for your readings as this will benefit you later on when it is time for exams. Often readings in the textbook provide more helpful information than what your professors have to offer and it is much easier to understand. Having everything organized and ready to go helps create a more happier stress-free YOU.
One last Hurrah- When you are entering the final days of your summer vacation be sure to set aside one final day to see your girlfriends! After all, this is the last few days of your summer and you want to end it with a BANG. Whether it’s having a fire and roasting some marshmallows, going to the beach and roasting in the sun, going out for dinner followed by a movie, or just hanging out at home and having a movie marathon. Be sure to not hold back, and invite friends that you haven’t seen in a while or are not going to see for a while! This will help you transition into the university life with a good mood, and you will be sure to not have any regrets!
Buy things in bulk & give yourself a budget- It can be extremely hard to spend your money wisely when you are used to buying whatever you want in the summer time. Especially if this is your first year of university that you are going into, you need to be sure you have a proper budget that you are going to work with each week. From personal experience I have learned this the hard way, and decided to spend a lot of my money the first couple of months while in university. You do not want to follow this route…trust me. Having money issues is not something you want to be dealing with while in university especially if you already have a heavy workload. Even having a budget discussion with your parents can be extremely helpful, since they already know a lot about bills and money. Figuring out how much money you would like to spend each week and month will help you out in the long run. When you are going food shopping or shopping for supplies it is easier and more beneficial to buy things in bulk. This helps you save money and time when you start running out of that specific thing. Making a trip to Costco with your roommates and even splitting the expenses is something smart to do.
Stay on top of things- It is crucial from transitioning to the student life from summer that you try to stay on top of everything. In summer, you were used to working, tanning, living it up and relaxing. When you enter the university life, be sure to keep up with your studies and your readings. If you have a project that is due in a couple weeks be sure to work a little bit on it each day even if it is for 30 minutes each day. This will help create less stress for yourself, so you are not rushing around doing everything at the last minute. You will not feel stressed out and exhausted knowing that you finished the project a few days before it was due.
Touch base with your roommates before hand- If you are living in a student house and going into another year of university, then this is an extremely important step to do. Maybe a weekend before you go back to live in your student house, see if there is anything that you need to bring up such as: detergent, toiletries, food, or even tupperware that you may need. Taking turns to buy certain things each month or week can help even the costs out, and will in turn help everyone out. This has worked extremely well for my student house, and I have had not one single problem in regards to this suggestion. Even messaging or texting your roommates before you move back in to ask them how their summer was will help break the ice if you have not heard from them all summer. After all, you do have to live with them for another year, so it’s best to get to know them as best you can and seem interested in their personal life.
Go pamper yourself one last time- When entering the student life, you become a poor broke student once again. This means no shopping sprees, getting your nails done for a while, and no retail therapy. Now that you have textbooks to buy, rent to pay and groceries to buy, you need to limit yourself to what you are buying. Before school starts up again, treat yourself to one last pamper session. This could be going to get your nails done, buying a new purse, or in my case… both. Doing things for yourself, or treating yourself, puts you in a happier mood when summer is coming to an end. You then get to show off your new nails, or that brand new purse of yours to your friends at school. There are two places that I would highly recommend to get your nails done at. They are both located in Caledonia Ontario and are right down the street from each other. The first place is called Sky Nails and is a great place for getting gel nails done. I have gone there twice to get the gel nails, and it only costs you $30.00. Both times I have been extremely satisfied with the results and have no complaints! The second nail place that I would recommend is called Enliven and they do great pedicures here. I really like this place because they do not rush when they are doing your nails and it is extremely relaxing as spa music plays in the background. If you are looking for somewhere to treat yourself I would highly recommend these two places!
Don’t let your summer die- Just because it’s nearing the university life, doesn’t mean you can’t stop doing the things you love. If you were on a baseball team over the summer months look into clubs and teams at you university you are attending. One thing that I have regretted over the years is not joining any clubs or teams throughout my university years. By joining teams, you are becoming more involved in your school, and you can meet a bunch of new people as well. It is never too late to sign up for something new! Don’t stress so hard about the work load you have for school. Simply look into a sport you enjoy and do this on the side. As long as this does not interfere with your studies, you are golden.
I hope that this blog has helped you beauts slowly transition back into the university life! Enjoy your years of university as they go by so fast, and they are the best years of your life! Do not stress yourself out too much, follow these simple tricks and tips and you will be good to go!
much love xo.
itsthelittlethingsinlifethatmatter 