Here we are again. August 1. You know what this day means, don’t you? It’s my brother’s birthday!!!! Okay, so no that’s not exactly what I meant! August 1 is when I start thinking about the new semester and school year that is creeping up on us. That’s usually the date when the small voice in the back of my head is telling me to start ordering my textbooks and letting my friends know when I’ll be back for our first meal of the year! It’s when I go into a huge planning spree. I start making long term and short term goals {all coming v. soon}.
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This year, I’m going to start off the month of August with 12 days of Back to College content! Because college life blog posts are just like Christmas gifts right? I’ll be tagging all my posts with #12DaysofBTC and I trust you already know what to do with that. Tag your blog posts, your Instagrams, and your tweets because I want to see all the college content! Today, I figured I would start out with a pretty fun and entertaining post about the things that keep me afloat when I’m on campus! So, enough of my banter… let’s get to it.
Water Bottle
Everyone needs to stay hydrated when they’re on campus so I always recommend carrying around a reusable water bottle. It’ll keep you from spending pointless dollars in the student stores on plastic or unhealthy sugary sodas and lemonades. The best thing about the water bottle trend becoming so popular is that I can now get a marble S’well to match my phone and laptop. #trendy
Keurig or Coffee Maker
My keurig is my rock and there are sometimes in the semester when I can’t live life without my morning cup of joe. I can’t say that the Keurig makes the best coffee that I’ve ever tasted but it’s fast and easy to clean up every blue moon so perfect for busy college students who hit snooze too many times before class in the morning. I also know that people love their N’espresso and some people love the traditional charm of the original coffee maker.
A Camera
Last year, I did a post all about new products being launched that were perfect to bring to college. My Polaroid Camera that I picked up from this collaboration is still one of my favorite things to have in my apartment and to bring on road trips to capture candid moments of friends and good times. There are so many happy memories to capture in the college years, and I think having a camera to document them is crucial! I love my big DSLR, but I am super happy with my Nikon Point and Shoot and my Polaroid camera to keep it super artsy!
An Air Mattress
I love love love that I bought an air mattress this past year. There have been so many times where I’ve seen my friends have to sleep on the floor of dorms when they got locked out or got kicked out {if you know what I mean}. I like that I can blow it up and use when someone comes to visit if I don’t feel like sharing my bed or for group trips to vacation spots or for formal! The nice thing is that you can get them from Walmart for like 20 dollars and they get the job done!
A Journal or Really Good Book
Truthfully, I don’t read enough during the year. I’ve also yet to find a book that I’m dying to read this summer either. I think I’ve been so into visual storytelling lately, that I’ve forgotten how amazing it is to get trapped in words. Sometimes, it’s essential to take a step back from what you’re doing and write or read for that escape from the internet and/or people. I highly recommend grabbing a good book or a cute journal and getting lost in it! Here’s a good list to get you started if you want something good to read.
Portable Charger
There were several times I had to sprint to the bus station or borrow a phone charger from a complete stranger in the library because I was at 1% and needed my phone to figure out my next steps. That had to stop. My dad bought me an awesome portable charger from Best Buy and I will never go back. As a wise person once said, ain’t nobody got time for that.
HDMI cord
I can’t tell you how many instances there have been in my college career where I was asked to use my HDMI cord. Or not asked, but that’s a totally different issue. The great thing about college is that everyone has a laptop, not everyone, but most people. Since we are the generation of Netflix and on the go streaming, everyone can access a huge library of movies and TV shows on their computer. I was always the point man for connecting laptops to TVs for group movie sessions or Bachelorette viewings.
Spotify Premium Subscription
Spotify premium is bae. I don’t know how many times I can tweet about how on point all of their playlists are, but it’s so true so I guess an infinite amount of times. You can get a great discount for Spotify using a university affiliated email address here. Why Spotify? I tell you all about my hunt for the best streaming service here. While you’re already making your packing list, bring 12 pairs of headphones. I’ve already lost around 5 pairs, not joking.
Carry On Suitcase or Duffle Bag
When you come to college, you become very inclined to travel if you weren’t already. I think when you start learning about how big your field truly is and every little detail that is under its control, you want to explore it. I’ve traveled a lot over the years and I always had a go to suitcase or duffel that I could use to travel back and forth over a couple of days. I love my Vera Bradley Grand Traveler for those really spontaneous weekend trips and I recently picked up this Marble Calpak luggage set. Talk about the best travel gear!
First Aid Kit
I’m pretty clumsy and have had my fair share of accidents, so I always keep a first aid kit near me while I’m at school. Make sure you keep it stocked with band aids, antiseptics, gauze, KT tape, tweezers etc. Here’s a travel one that I carry around when I’m in nature or for long days of athletics!
I seriously can’t tell you how important all these things are for making me a functioning human being during the school year! I’m pretty excited for the content coming out this month so be sure to stick around! You can get email notifications by signing up in the sidebar or following us on bloglovin’ here!
What do you just have to bring to college? Let me know in the comments!
keep on keepin’ on,
