Society tries to depict college life as one big party. Shockingly enough, college students actually do more than drink beer, stay up all night and kiss strangers on the weekend. We have a lot to worry about: our depleting bank accounts, where our next meal is coming from, how we’re going to pay rent, what we’re going to do for the rest of our lives, etc. Sometimes it just gets too hard to manage six classes, a part-time job, internships, starting a career, eating three meals a day, going to the gym, doing laundry, getting eight hours of sleep every night, maintaining a social life and leaving some room for down time. When “college-ing” is just too much to handle, here are some tips from fellow students to help you through:
1. The one-and-a-half method
Ladies, most of us have three main areas of focus when getting ready: hair, makeup and outfit selection. On the average day, expecting any of us to put 100% effort into all three is incredibly unrealistic and just plain cruel. In my opinion, exerting that much energy into your appearance is only required for special occasions like Thursday nights at River or, like, a wedding or something.
As a naïve freshman, I admittedly woke up hours before the start of class to beautify each area. As time went on, sleep became so much more important than clean and straightened hair, a full face of make-up and a kick-ass outfit to complete the look. Priorities shifted, but that didn’t mean I wanted to go out in public looking like 2007 Britney Spears on the daily. Thus, the one-and-a-half method was born.
To capitalize on vital minutes of sleep and also look decent, I have learned to put effort into one-and-a-half of hair, make-up and attire. Possible combinations are:
Styled hair (1) Messy bun (0) Unwashed high pony (1/2)
Natural make-up (1/2) Full face of make-up (1) Nothing but mascara & lipstick (1/2)
Sweatpants (0) T-shirt and jeans (1/2) Casual t-shirt dress (1/2)
This may be the only time math has ever been fun.
2. Bathroom naps
There’s no doubt that we have all fallen victim to dozing off in class, or at least know someone who has. Accidently sleeping in class is arguably one of the most mortifying things ever, especially if the professor calls you out for it. For those students who have not mastered the whole “sleeping with your eyes open” thing (seriously, how do people do that!?), there’s the bathroom nap.
During freshmen year, I was unfortunately forced to take Statistics. Not only was the material painfully boring, but the class met on Friday afternoons. *sigh* I sat next to Ali Booth (fellow Her Campus Marist staff writer), and she always had energy during even the most dry of lectures. How did she manage to keep her eyes open? Luckily for me, she told me her secret.
In classes when it felt almost impossible to pay attention, she would excuse herself to take a nap in the bathroom. Seriously. She would set her phone alarm to five minutes later, rest her head and doze off in the stall. Sounds bizarre right? It did to me, too… until I tried it. I swear I would have never made it through stats without her helpful trick. Sometimes all you need is a catnap to get you through the day.
3. One-for-one
For some reason, twenty-somethings have been led to believe that drinking water during a night out is counterproductive if *drunk* is the ultimate goal. Water is for hangovers and sobering up, isn’t it? Wrong. In order to manage all our weekly responsibilities, we don’t have the luxury of spending an entire day recovering from one too many vodka sodas. After all the fireball shots settle, we actually have to be a person the next morning. In order to enjoy the bar on Friday and make it to work on Saturday, students should get in the habit of going one-for-one with liquor and water. For every alcoholic beverage you consume, ask the bartender for a cup of water. Rather than killing your buzz, the water is simply re-hydrating your body so you won’t have to suffer from a daylong headache tomorrow. Ta-da! It really is possible to work hard, play hard.
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Maybe these tips won’t solve all of your college-related problems… I mean, no one has figured out how to make ten grand in a week for doing nothing yet. But if “college-ing” is taking its toll, try out these tips. Or just drink some cheap liquor and blast Sammy Adam’s “I Hate College,” because clearly he knows how we’re feeling.