College Survival Guide: The Exercising

It always happens. I am laying in the sand, breeze flowing through my hair, soaking up the sun. No thoughts of homework or newspaper deadlines or post-graduation plans. I’m about to take a sip of my strawberry daiquiri when “WE DON’T HAVE TO BE LONELY NO MORE! AND I’VE NEVER EVER BEEN THIS FOR SURE…” sings loudly in my ear.

My alarm is going off. It’s 6 a.m. and I have to make a choice. Get up, work out and feel awake and energetic the rest of the day. Or, throw my cozy comforter over my head and sleep a couple more hours.

Now, if I’ve had my seven to eight hours of sleep the night before {see my previous post on catching zzz’s} then getting up is usually the easy choice. The oh so many times I’ve chosen to exercise, I have never once regretted it.

College Survival Guide: The Sleeping

If you don’t listen to any of my other advice, listen to this: It’s vitally important that you get enough sleep.

There’s a myth that travels through the college network. It deceives incoming freshman as well as seasoned seniors. It says, “College has three parts—school, sleep & social—and you can only choose two.”

I’m here to say, “Don’t believe the lies!”

College Survival Guide: The Eating

Nothing excited me more about my senior year of college than this one truth: I will never, ever eat in the caf ever again.

Over summer, I dreamed about all the meals I would cook, all the recipes I would try and all the dinners I would host. My diet would no longer consist of salads every lunch and sandwiches every dinner. I would no longer be confined to a strict eating schedule. I could have breakfast at 10 a.m. and dinner at 8 p.m. if I wanted.

Then classes started. And I realized the time it took to plan meals, to purchase groceries and to actually cook. All of the sudden, this no-caf life didn’t seem so glamorous.