College-ing, From the Perspective of a Total Mess of a Person

In my experience, people give a lot of advice to college students.

A lot. 

So much advice. 

Everyone has an opinion on where you should go to school, what classes you should take, how you should do student loans, what you should eat, how you should plan your life. 

SO guess what? I am going to add my voice and shout into the void.

Some realistic college advice from yours truly:

-- Buy Tide stain sticks. They are lifesavers. Buy like seven if you are anything like me. I keep one in my dresser, one in my purse, and one in my backpack. I use them almost every day. 

-- Know how much money you are taking out in student loans. Whether it's a lot or a little, know how much it is. Stay aware. Otherwise, when you find out it will haunt you and horrify you and you won't fall asleep until five in the morning because all you can think about is your impending doom. 

-- Locate 24-hour joints near you. Coffee shops, cafes, diners. You will want to know when midterms/finals roll around and you need to get out of your room at 1 am so you can study while your roommates sleep. 

-- Trader Joe's makes really freaking good single serving frozen meals. My roommates and I really like the Tikka Masala. 

-- Buy quarts of ice cream instead of pints. It's way too easy to eat straight out of the carton with a pint, and that makes it wayyyyy to easy to eat it all in one or two sittings instead of the recommended four. 

-- BUY A LAPTOP CASE. And a distinctive one, at that, so you don't get it mixed up with other ones. Also, close your laptop when walking places/going up and down stairs/waltzing around your room if you are at all accident-prone. Seriously.

-- Locate your nearest hospital. Know where it is, so when you dislocate your shoulder, you can go straight there. 

-- Uhhh I think I should say something about exercise/eating healthy, but this is not my area of expertise. Our building has a gym. I have been there twice: On the tour, and when Laura dragged me up there. I spent most of the time stretching. So... do better than me.

-- Pick up babysitting jobs if/when you can. You can make so much money, and you can meet super duper cool people and see parts of town you wouldn't otherwise. 

-- Get Spotify premium or Apple Music or some music provider of the sort. It is the best investment. 

-- If/when you have a mental breakdown and can't/don't finish a giant paper worth 20% of your grade, TELL SOMEONE. Do not do what I did, which is freak out, ignore it, curl up in a little ball, take the L, and not tell anyone until like after Christmas. Tell your parents, your studious friend, your professor, a counselor, whatever. Someone who can help you and prevent a lot of unnecessary anxiety. (It's really a toss-up between who was more horrified when they found out: My parents or Amelia.)

-- At Dunkin': Get an iced coffee with cream and caramel instead of an iced caramel latte. There's a bit of a difference in flavor, but there's an almost $2 difference in price, so WORTH IT. Avoid Starbucks unless you have a gift card. I don't take that advice in the slightest, but you should. 

-- Ask for student discounts everywhere, folks. 

-- Get nice headphones. It seems unnecessary, but they're actually the best. You have roommates! You have to study in crowded libraries!

-- The Apple protection plan doesn't cover physical damage. Do with that information what you will. 

-- Follow blogs/websites/twitter accounts that cover fun stuff to do in the area. You need to do fun stuff. 

-- On a similar note, find people who will keep your fun/work ratio balanced. Do not only surround yourself with people with the exact same study habits. I have to surround myself who will keep me focused when I need to do homework. Some of my friends need me around so they don't study and/or stress too much. Sometimes you need to hunker down and write the paper. Other times you need to step back and take a break and go to the park or watch musicals or take Buzzfeed quizzes. Very few people are that well-balanced on their own, so find yourself buddies who can help you out. 

-- Always, ALWAYS, do the extra credit.

-- Don't blog when you should be doing Politics homework.