Flickr user Jamie
It’s easy to get excited about your high school graduation and graduation party, and why shouldn’t you be? You’ve put in four years of effort for this moment. Enjoy it, savor it, but keep in mind that if you’re going to college in the fall, there are some ways to plan ahead.
Save any monetary gifts.
It’s impressive how quickly your savings account can disappear once classes start. Textbooks are expensive. If you can’t eat at the dining hall for every meal, you have to get food somehow: Even if your dining hall is always open, you’ll probably want to eat out every once in a while. Not to mention you’ll be in charge of toiletries, clothes, travel expenses… So yeah, save every penny you can from your graduation party.
Be ready to talk about where you’re going to school.
Whether it’s family you only talk to once a year, friends of your parents, parents of your friends, or teachers who can’t keep track, you are going to be talking to a lot of people about “What’s next?” You don’t have to have every detail planned out: Plenty of students go to college either undecided about their major or switch it later on. It can be fun to tell people why you picked your school and what you hope to do there. Get hyped!
Decorate with your college style.
This helps out with the aforementioned conversation. If people can clearly see which college you’ve aligned yourself with, they might not ask so much about it. Napkins and banners with your school’s logo are pretty easy to acquire. It’s another way to be excited about the next step in your life, and also begin the mental preparation for leaving home.
Relax a little.
College is a lot of work. Enjoy your summer. Do your best to recover from the last twelve or thirteen years of uninterrupted education. Try and set up a similar schedule to what you’ll have in college so everything’s already a habit when you get there. In the meantime, relax and eat your graduation cake.
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