THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE COLLEGE/THINGS I LEARNED AT COLLEGE

Hi friends, sorry it's been so long.

My excuse: I just barely finished summer term at Brigham Young University, and I guess you could say I got swept away in the glamour of it all. I always knew I would love college, but this summer I realized how much I, like, love college. So many new people, so many new opportunities, and so many new adventures to be had. I feel like I've been in a 90s coming of age movie - think Clueless, or She's All That - and this summer was the 4 minute montage of the shy nerdy girl getting a massive makeover and transforming into the infinitely funnier, smarter, and more mature-ish form of her previous self. Although I most likely haven't grown up as much as I'd like to believe, I HAVE learned a lot about how to survive college, so here's a list of things I wish I knew before college/things I have learned while at college

THINGS I WISH I KNEW BEFORE COLLEGE/THINGS I LEARNED WHILE AT COLLEGE

1. NAPS ARE SO IMPORTANT.

         I always knew sleep was cool. I'm not going to lie, I slept a LOT my senior year. But, college has taught me the true beauty of naps, and how they can turn your entire day around and make you into a whole new human. An ordinary day in the life of College Gabby this past summer went something like this:

9:30: wake up, stumble out of bed, kind of get ready for the day

10-11: Book of Mormon class

11-12: FIRST LUNCH

12-2: Either Writing & Rhetoric or Career Explorations (depending on the day)

2-3: SECOND LUNCH/homework time

3-5: Work

5-6: DINNER/more homework time

6-9: Nap

9-whenever: nighttime festivities with my friends (Del Taco, scootering around P-Town, and foosball were some of our favorite things to do after dark)

whenever-9:30am: bedtime/basically just another small nap

Before college, I never would have DREAMED of taking a nap from 6-9. But, college changes things. I've adapted. This is who I am now. And I have learned to accept myself for who I have become.

2. A COMFY BED MAKES A HAPPY HUMAN.

         This one goes hand in hand with item number one. Your bed in college is literally your safe haven, your one escape from the outside world, the one place you can hide away. For this reason, it is necessary to spend as much money needed to make your bad as comfy as possible. On my bed, I have a memory foam mattress topper (Target), jersey sheets (also Target), a wonderful not-too-hot, not-too-cold comforter (Ikea) and super cute duvet cover (also Ikea), and really nice pillows (no idea where I got these....I'm sure you can find pillows on your own though). Coming home from a long day of classes/work/social interaction, it was amazing to just plop down on my bed and snuggle up in my comforter and take a deep breath of satisfaction. Spoil yourself. You deserve it.

3. GOOD FRIENDS ARE VITAL.

         Listen guys, I can not emphasize this one enough. It is so important to have good friends that you can just hang out with and be yourself around. I was so incredibly lucky to find some phenomenal people this past term, and they made my life so much easier. Whether it was 5:30 (am) Denny's outings during finals week, midnight scooter rides around campus, or Saturday stay-in-bed-and-marathon-Netflix-all-day girl time, my friends were always there for me when I needed them, and I tried my hardest to return the love. Not being around family for the first time of your life can be hard, but good friends make it not so hard.

4. GET ALONG WITH YOUR ROOMMATE.

         I super lucked out, because my roommate, Kaila, and I get along sOoOoOooo well. I went into college being kind of hesitant to share a room with someone I don't know very well, but Kaila is fantastic. She's kind of like my momager (mom-manager. Think Kris Jenner, except Kaila's 500000x better/100000x less crazy). Everyone in our friend group calls her mom because she's the most responsible one out of all of us, she looks out for us, organizes everything, and makes sure we all get fed and do our homework and stuff. But she's not a regular mom....she's a COOL mom. In all seriousness though, do whatever you can to be good friends with your roommate because they're gonna be the ones that buy you ice cream from the vendiez when you're sad, they're the ones who will make sure you get up for your 10am class, they're the ones that you'll stay up ridiculously late whispering to about each other's COD's (crush of the day....more on that later), and they're the ones who will put up with you when you're at your craziest/moodiest. A good relationship with your roommate will make your college life extraordinary.

5. IT'S OKAY TO HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE THAT AREN'T YOUR ROOMMATE.

         Although it's so cool having your roommate as your best friend, YOU DON'T NEED TO DO EVERYTHING TOGETHER. Kaila & I talked about this before we even arrived to college and became close friends. We decided that it's okay to do different things and hang out with different people. There are so many people you will meet and so many people your roommate will meet and sometimes you guys will just have to do your own thing. My main piece of advice here is don't get offended if your roommate does something fun without inviting you, and be happy for each other when one of you gets asked to do something crazy awesome. Jealousy is toxic and will ruin the fun times you guys have. Just have fun and look out for each other and everything will be good.

6. THERE ARE SO MANY BOYS. YOU CAN LIKE A LOT OF THEM. BUT STAY CLASSY.

         Kaila and I, the first week of classes, decided to make COD's a thing. COD's, or crush-of-the-day's, are a play on the whole "COW" thing from EFY. Basically we decided that each new day we would have a new COD. A new crush that we'd kind of obsess over, snapchat a lot, smile at during the day, text.....you know, just classic crush-esque things. At the end of the day when we were all tucked into our beds for the night we'd go into detail all of the interactions we had with our COD, and basically just talk about how cute they were. Despite the name, we didn't actually have CODs every day....that would just be ridiculous. We didn't even actually have actual crushes on most of the boys we deemed our COD. We were just appreciating the gentleman-y qualities and beautiful faces of our peers. One time, my COD was a grad student who opened the door for me. Obviously I didn't actually like him, but he made me happy and so I decided he was my COD. That's the beauty of CODs....they're like a whole new level of non-committal. Which makes them a perfect way to avoid marriage. The main thing that made CODs work though, was that Kaila and I only told each other about them...no one else knew, or will ever know, who our CODs were. This is how we stayed classy about it. There are so many men at college, so many options and choices and opportunities. You can like as many of them as you want, just be classy about it. CLASS WILL GET YOU SO FAR IN LIFE. I promise. Also, don't forget that there are other ladies out there too.... Happy hunger games, may the odds be ever in your favor. (Lol jk, the dating scene isn't that intense. Only kind of intense.)

7. THERE'S MORE ROOM IN YOUR CLOSET THAN YOUR MOM WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE.

         Sorry mom, but I had like 1/4 of my closet that wasn't full at all. I am grateful to you for making me limit what I brought though, because I only have things that I actually wear...crazy, huh!? Humans that are packing for college right now: if you can't decide if you should bring a sweater that you kind of wear sometimes, but not sure if it will fit in with your new "college look", bring it anyways. Even if there isn't room in your closet for it, you can stuff it in a bin under your bed. I promise you there will be a day when you're super grateful you brought that sweater. I do, however, recommend leaving a lil bit of closet space open to accommodate borrowed clothing/clothing you will inevitably buy when you go to the mall right by campus. Also bring a lot more hangers than you think you'll need. There's way more hanging up space than there is drawer space.

8. TRY NEW THINGS.

         This is so cliche it almost kills me to put it on this list, but college is the time to discover yourself. It's the time to really find out what YOU love, not just what your friends love, what your parents love, or what looks good on college applications. Are you interested in psychology? Take PSYCH101. Want to learn how to fight? The Ju Jitsu club sounds rad. Want to meet new people? DO ANYTHING. College is full of people trying to find themselves, and no one will think you're lame for doing something that really interests you. You just gotta do you, and be proud about it.

9. MAKE A REALLY LONG STUDY PLAYLIST BEFORE THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT IS DUE.

         Luckily, I started making my study playlist (titled rad and sad, you can follow it on Spotify HERE) last October, so it is a grand total of 11 hours and 53 minutes long, with 182 songs that are perfect for studying. Make your own study playlist before you need it - I can't tell you how many times I've been ready to do something but then end up putting it off because I need to make a playlist for it first. (basically every time I decide I wanna be healthy and start running/working out LOL.) This might only be a problem for me. But trust me, friends. Having a pre-made study playlist will help you sOoOoOo much late at night when you just need some calming tunes to get you through that essay. I promise.

10. LITERALLY DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS OF YOU.

         College is a weird time for people. It's that weird transition time between high school and real life, where half of the people are mature(ish) and the other half still think it's cool to be mean. What I learned this past semester is that people will say mean things sometimes, and the only thing you can do about it is choose to ignore it and grow from it. The people who are making fun of you for doing something you enjoy only hurt themselves. You are a beautiful human being with so many amazing things about you, and if people choose to waste their time talking badly about you then that's their own problem, not something you can change. Coco Chanel said it nicely: "I don't care what you think about me. I don't think about you at all." Don't give mean humans the time of the day. They don't deserve your thoughts. Haters gon' hate. 

11. CLEAN YOUR ROOM REGULARLY LOL

         I never ever thought I'd say this but a clean room is so amazing to come home to after a long day of school/work/play. Cleaning your room up a lil bit, even like once a week, helps a TON so you aren't struggling to hide everything right before cleaning checks. I wasn't that great at keeping my side of the room clean, but Kaila has a habit of cleaning when she wants to avoid doing homework, so her side was almost always clean. Goal for this next semester is to keep my side clean too, so that our room overall is a clean and happy place. Trust me on this one, though...regular laundry time is a must. Kaila and I usually did our laundry around 3 in the morning on a random Monday/Tuesday night. Usually right before a test/quiz so we could stay up all night studying in the basement where there was no wifi aka distractions. Doing laundry regularly just gives your life order. Showering regularly is also very important. Just cleanliness in general. Don't forget the basics.

12. DANCE PARTIES ARE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

         Every once in a while, Kaila and I would just turn on the tunes and jam hardcore. That was so important. College is stressful and scary and intense, and dancing around to One Direction, Beyoncé, Spice Girls, and (of course) High School Musical forces you to let loose and relax. Mine & Kaila's number one song of choice is Miracles Happen by Myra, the one from Princess Diaries. It instantly puts anyone in a good mood and reminds you that MIRACLES HAPPEN ONCE IN A WHILE WHEN YOU BELIEVE, which is always a good thing to keep in mind. Dancing is good for your soul. Hands up, go nuts, get crazy.

13. DON'T STRESS

         Like I said, college is scary. It's okay to be nervous. Don't let your nervousness stop you from having a good time though. This is the time to make memories and have fun and experience life. Don't sweat the small stuff. 

14. DO YOUR HOMEWORK AT YOUR DESK

         I was gonna end this list at don't stress because that was kind of inspirational (I'd like to think) but I just remembered another thing that is important. No matter how uncomfortable it may be, do your homework at your desk. There were so many times that I would think to myself "I'll just do my homework in bed. Perfect idea." And then I'd end up falling asleep mid-assignment and wake up in a fluster the next morning with unfinished homework. Also, I'm pretty sure there's a study somewhere that proves students who do their homework at their desk gets higher test scores. So yeah, do your homework at your desk and remember you're an amazing human being that is about to take life by storm and dominate this whole college thing. (My sad attempt at making the last point on here inspirational and uplifting.)

Well there ya have it. My 14-point guide on how to dominate college. I hope you all are doing well and I want you to know that I love my family, I love my friends, I love my gospel, and I love my life. 

XOXO,

gabs.

PS: Leave a comment if you have suggestions on how to dominate college! 

PPS: Mail is cool. My address is 2107 Chipman, Helaman Halls, Provo, UT, 84604 :)

Also here's a good song:

Young Blood // Bea Miller

And another good song:

Shake It Off // Taylor Swift

(I'm only a little embarrassed to say I'm completely obsessed with this song)