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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oswego chapter.

So, we’ve all made it. We’re in, or even past, the first month of the new college year. We may be 2,000 miles away from home or a 15 minute drive down the road, but we’re all in it. I am a 3 hour drive away from my hometown. It’s rough. I’ll definitely admit that, it’s an exacerbating experience, not only being swamped with a new life, but being so far from the ones you love and the life you’ve always known (this goes out to my fellow first years.) But there’s so many ways to make the adjustment a tad easier. 

I don’t know about you guys, but I am in LOVE with Emma Chamberlain and her “Anything Goes’ ‘ podcast. She did an episode about romanticizing life in June of this year and I immediately fell in love with the ideology of romanticizing as a partial coping mechanism. She spoke on the philosophy behind it all and how the latest “trend” has become a massive part of everyone’s life, and how making life feel “romantic” can help make the struggles a little easier. I would definitely check out this episode because my one little sentence does not at all compare to the 30 minutes this episode holds. 

Okay I feel like I don’t have much of a say in this since I’m a first year freshman, but adjusting to the scene and schedules of college is no joke. The seniors are the ones to go to for this stuff, but here’s some of the ways I’ve been making my life a little easier, romanticizing my life every step of the way. 

  1. Coffee shops

I feel like the first thing we always see in one of those “clean girl” aesthetic TikToks is them making their morning coffee to start their day. So I’ve prioritized cafes and coffees on campus and at home for being extra studious. I always sit by the windows in Lake Effect, set up my laptop and ipad, put in some nice music, and get my iced latte (and sometimes an apple turnover), and start working. And for some reason it always motivates me and I always look at it as one of those TikToks. Being able to sit in a place that is pretty much made for focus and surrounding yourself in an environment with countless people around working, made me that much more motivated. Lake Effect Cafe in the Penfield Library is as close as we’re gonna get, so get your extravagant little latte, set up shop, and get to work!!

  1. Good playlists

Music is a savior, especially for me! You should make yourself an aesthetic little relaxing playlist to walk around campus with. I have a playlist full of Clairo, Beabadoobee, Mac DeMarco, Daniel Caesar, and so much more. I cannot stress enough how much my playlist has gotten me in a relaxing, romantic mood. But, the number one thing that I recommend heavily for this to make a maximum impact is to INVEST IN A GOOD PAIR OF NOISE CANCELING HEADPHONES!! I know that they can be expensive, but I have never been so grateful for my airpods until I stepped foot on this campus, with everyone always talking, and sometimes screaming, I am able to just tune it all out. 

  1. Friends

Get yourself a cute little friend group you can do things with, the things you see on those TikToks! I know it may seem hard to make friends, but everybody on campus is always looking for new friends, so don’t worry about it at all. But you can help decorate rooms and go on little trips to Syracuse, or go to the hockey games and study together. Even go out on the weekends with them and take cute outfit pictures! Having friends that match your vibe and aesthetic can add a lot to this romantic feel of life. 

  1. Dress cute

I will admit, it’s a little hard to dress up, it’s only week 3 and I’ve already lost effort LOL. But I still try sometimes and it helps me a lot. I am a huge advocate of cute and comfy when it comes to wearing cute fits. My go to outfit is a black cropped tank top, my flare American Eagle jeans (the comfiest jeans I’ve ever worn), a tan knit Brandy Melville sweater zip up, and my air forces. Another thing I can heavily recommend is wearing simple makeup. I sometimes do a little more, but majority of the time I always put on clear brow gel from Elf, cream blush from glossier, fenty highlighter, and rare beauty mascara. The simple, comfy, quick looks have me in a serious chokehold. You can still be cute and have it take minimal effort, and it helps me seriously with feeling good and happy throughout the day. 

  1. Cute supplies

Yes, I am indeed one of those people who buy incredible amounts of supplies. This year I did transfer over to all digital, but before college, I was that girl with the cute highlighters, notebooks, folders, you name it. I know it’s excessive, but if you have things that are pleasing to the eye and have the same aesthetic, it makes it way easier to work, and it’s just cute!! Another thing too that just helps period is an agenda. I have one made in my iPad and oh my gosh does it help massively!! I could not function without seeing the things I need done and my life all laid out in one area. So get yourself a cute little agenda that matches the rest of your supplies, and it will seriously help (and it is so cute)!!

  1. Healthy habits and routines

You seriously do need to keep healthy habits in college, because you can very easily get caught up in your work and forget about taking care of the thing that really matters, you!!! If you come up with a nice little routine, it can seriously help so much. Wake up early, go workout or even just for a walk, go get some breakfast. You need food and you need exercise, you need to replenish your body since you will be exerting so much energy into your school work. Go to your classes, get cute and play some nice music, get more walking in!!! And seriously make sure you are eating and drinking water at all times throughout the day. Get yourself a cute little water bottle. Just take the day step by step and implement healthy, and cute things like coffee shops and exercise and healthy meals, these things are make or break to your mentality!!!

  1. Getting that homework done!! (The only way you can begin to romanticize is if you are focused on the real reason why you are in college, the academics.)

You cannot romanticize college if you aren’t in it!!! Yes, romanticize things all you want, but don’t let it over take your school work, it really is possible. Romanticize things to your advantage. Romanticizing things won’t fix you, but it can seriously be an aspect of help that can get you through your college life. But most importantly, you need to sleep at least 6-8 hours. I know school work is super important, but you cannot be up at all hours of the night to finish certain things. I know every prof is telling you the same shit but it’s seriously so important. I am a fellow procrastinator myself, so I really know how it feels when you have to read 15 pages of a textbook the night before your class, so break it up, if a prof assigns you work and its due next week, don’t push it off until next week, please. 

The massive thing that I have realized about romanticizing life, is to look at your life as one of those aesthetic, clean girl, motivated girl, TikToks. If you look at your life like someone else’s perfect life, it may help a little more to get a habit of romanticizing your life. I use TikTok and Pinterest heavily when I try to find new things to do or to help me with college and life in general. I normally try to stay off of socials, but I really do find it relaxing to scroll through Pinterest and find things to add to my routines.

Hi! My name is Em, I'm from Saratoga Springs New York! I am a double major communications/ global and international studies! I love traveling, music, coffee, clothes, and so much more. Read more of my upcoming articles to learn more about me!