#a lot of people think that scheduling events starts and ends with telling eveyone when the event is

[overexciteddragon]

Hey I actually have a recommendation if you're struggling with social scripts, the podcast Shmanners by Teresa McElroy and her husband Travis does a fantastic job at giving a cool rundown of what the interesting historical customs were for certain events and situations, and then explain how you can go about the same situations in the modern day. It's been immensely helpful for me especially while I was planning my wedding and wanted to do a good job at being a host. This is a cool episode on "handshakes and business cards", which I think can be important for a lot of us to learn!

I feel like in the rush of “throw out etiquette who cares what fork you use or who gets introduced first” we actually lost a lot of social scripts that the younger generations are floundering without.

[thecaffeinatedkansasbabe-blog]

Tips For Survivng College

Here are a few crucial tips I have learned to help have a healthy and successful college life.

Make sure you get plenty of sleep. First, figure out what time you need to get up the next day. This time should allow you to be able to shower, get dressed, fix your hair (and makeup if you wear any), have a substantial breakfast, all while being able to walk to class and be on time. Once you’ve figured this time, count back 6-8 hours beforehand and you’ll know the latest you can go to bed the night before. If you will be eating breakfast at the cafeteria, factor in travel time and how long you think you’ll spend there when deciding on your wake-up time.

Take naps if you really feel you need to, but no more than 20-30 minutes at a time, otherwise you will wake up even more out of it. Take naps only if you are seriously out of it. Naps should not become a regular habit - you may get too dependent on having one.

Make sure you are eating! College can be hectic, and your eating schedule most likely won't be consistant day to day. You should never skip a meal, breakfast especially. As mentioned earlier, you should allow yourself enough time before your first class to eat a substantial breakfast. This will help ensure that you are more awake and cognizant during your first class. Also, if you won’t be back at your dorm for a good number of hours, take a snack with you when you leave - cereal bars, a plastic baggie of cereal, rice krispy bars, fresh fruit and veggies, and yogurt are all great options. Have snacks such a chips, cookies and candy bars sparingly. You may also be able to buy a snack somehwere on campus by using your meal plan, but already having a snack with you saves more money for cafeteria food.

Put your cell phone on silent during class or simply turn it off, storing it in your backpack or purse until class is dismissed. Try doing the same while studying.

If your professor gives you a number on the syllabus, put it in your cell phone immediately! You’ll never know if you will need it.

If you don’t understand anything, never hesistate to ask around. Contact your classmates or the professor to help ease any confusion you may have. Also, if you want, see if your school offers any tutors for any subjects you are having difficulties with.

If you use a backpack, always wear it on both shoulders. Wearing it constantly on one shoulder only may cause them to be unaligned.

Make sure you have plenty of pens and/or sharpened pencils with you when you go to class, in case you lose some by borrowing them out or they simply disapear.

If you write notes by hand during class, never hesitate to rewrite them. By doing this you are going over the information again, emdedding it more into you brain. It may help to rewrite handwritten notes onto your laptop, especially if your handwriting isn’t all that neat (and it saves paper). Take notes on your laptop during class only if you’re sure that’s all you will be doing on it.

Pay attention to any due dates for your assignments, especialy the ones that are in the syllabus. Put those dates on any calander you may have (laptop, cell phone, planner book, a wall or desk calendar) as soon as you can after learning the due date. Just be aware of any date changes. Check these dates regularly so you don’t forget them.

Be aware of how many unexcused absences the professor is allowing for the semester. If you are unable to attend a class because you are sick, let the professor know instead of simply not showing. Just becuase you’re lazy, feeling out of it, or are in a down mood is no reason to skip class. Some students skip a class altogether instead of making things awkward by being late. It is better to be a late by a few minutes than not showing up at all (assuming the professor doesn’t lock the door when class starts). In the long run, you will feel so much better being a couple minutes late than not going at all. If you do miss a class period, talk to your classmates to see what you missed, and if there is any vital information you need to know.

Take notes as you read each assigned chapter of your textbooks, even if it isn’t required. Take note of any bolded vocabulary words and key concepts. This will help you when studying for tests and you will better understand the topic duirng class discussions.

Start working on a paper, regardless of how long it needs to be, as soon as you can upon learning all the guidelines of what to do. The more you work on it early on in the semester the less pressure and stress you will feel the closer the due date approaches.

Never hesitate to say no to your friends. Having fun with your college friends is nice and necessary, but sometimes keeping up in your classes means having to miss out on some time with those friends. You don’t always have to say yes to any fun time they invite you to. You should make friends with people who will understand this, instead of always complaining that you never hang with them. The same holds true for any boyfriends or girlfriends - you don’t need to do everything with them.

It is fun to attend some of the various events your school holds, but you do not need to attend them all. It is great to be involved with your campus’ student life, but don’t be too involved. If you are interested in a school event but it conflicts with your study time, either say no and study hard, or only go to the event for a short while.

Don’t forget to have fun, but be aware of how much fun you you are having. Factor in your classes, how much time you think you need to do your assignments, meal times, and do your best to squeeze in some fun time with friends. Don’t let your fun times seep into the time needed for the other three. A lot of college stress arises because students don't balance their fun time and study time well. If the scale is more heavily on the fun end, you may want to reevaluate how you are spending your time.

Ask your classmates to see if anyone is willing to be a study budy throughout the semester.

If you like to listen to some music will studying and doing your assignments, listen to some instrumental or softer tunes, songs you are sure won’t distract you much, if at all. Some people need to hear themselves think when they study.

Find a place on campus where you will be able to better focus on your schoolwork. It may be the library, student center, a place outside, or even your own dorm. Some people can study hardcore anywhere, no matter how many people are around, while others need some solidarity.

Register for your next semester’s classes as early as you can. Classes fill up fast, so registering early will better ensure you the courses, profesors, and time slots you prefer, especially when it comes to the general courses every student is required to take. Pay attention to what courses are required in your major and sign up for them first. Do not take a semester of only generals or filler courses.

Don’t take a semester full of the maximum number of credits your school offers. You do not want to overbook yourself. Pay atrention to what the minimum number of credits is for an undergrad and take either that amount, or somethimg close to it on the higher end. It can be tempting to take more credits so you can graduate earlier, but not eveyone is capable of handling such a load. A lighter course load will also be less stressful, becuase lets face it, sometimes one class alone can be stressful enough.

Do not take a class in the earliest time slot your school offers, unless that is the only section for that course. This gives you more time in the morning to get ready and have a breakfast. This will also help reduce the risk of oversleeping and either not being to class on time or missing it entirely.

When choosing your generals or if you have some credit space to fill on your schedule, choose classes you think you will be interested in. Classes can fill up quickly so this may not always happen, but if you do get a class you think you’ll enjoy, you will have more fun throuhout the semester instead of simply trying to survive through it.

Some courses that use math, such as a math or a science class, have textbooks with work problems, with answers in the back. That will tell you the answer, not how to get it. The journey of arriving to the answer is what you will be graded on. Use the answers in the back as a guideline, to doublecheck your work, and to know what answer you should be ending up with.

Keep your tests and quizzes if they are not Scantron, becuase similar questions (or the exact question again) may appear on a final exam, if that final is accumulative to the what was tought throughout the semester. Focus on any questions you may have gotten wrong, so they aren’t incorrect again.

Rent your textbooks or search around for cheaper copies. Buying your textbooks brand new can cost a lot, and buying prices always cost more, even if the book is used. Obviously, college students need to save as much money as they can. Maybe you’ll want to buy the textbooks that are for your major so you can still refresh yourself of the information well after graduation, and that is reasonable. For the subjcts that aren’t in your major, renting textbooks is a preferred option. Also, if your school has a textbook buy back program at the end of the semester, take full advantage of that. Even if you only get half of what you originally paid for the book, that is better than getting no money for a book you’ll probably never use again.

Always have a water bottle on hand. Beverages such as coffee and soda can be quite delicious, but you should drink water the most of any liquid. Having a water bottle on hand will hopefully remind you to keep drinking some H2O.

Keep yourself motivated. Keep reminding yourself why you are in college in the first place. Many college students have a future self in mind. Work on making that a reality, instead of a fleeting thought. You may not always be able to make your present self proud, but you can surely help make your future self proud.