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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 OSU chapter.

Starting a new semester is always overwhelming, as there is a lot to figure out. However, I find that starting the semester feeling good about yourself always helps to make a smoother start. I have a couple rituals I have kept up with the past couple of years to feel confident and excited for the upcoming semester, and I can’t wait to share them all!

Become your best self 

Feeling confident walking into class is honestly a big deal for me, so in preparation for classes to begin, I do a few things to make sure I feel my best. The first thing I do is use tanning mousse the night before classes to bronze my skin because it always makes me feel so good about myself. I also like to blow out my hair and do minimal makeup. Usually I don’t like wearing makeup to class, but for the first few classes I like to put some on as a confidence booster.

Next is the outfit! Picking an outfit out that you love is crucial to feeling your best. Making sure you are wearing something you like while also feeling comfortable can be hard, but once you find the perfect fit, you will feel so good about yourself!

Having a sufficient sleep cycle is extremely important too. Sometimes it’s hard to get back into a school-sleep routine, but once you get into the habit of waking up earlier than you did in the summer, and going to sleep a little earlier, you will feel energetic and will be on top of things. With that being said, taking care of your body in general is really important to be your best self and feel good for school. Fueling your body with foods that give you energy and nutrients is the best thing you can do to feel healthy and strong. Stuffing your face with sweet treats may be exciting and taste delicious, but feeding your body with fruits and veggies before class is the best way to keep your mind active throughout classes. 

Organize

Being organized is the key to starting the semester off strong. It is so important to keep your work for your classes organized, not only to get good grades, but also for peace of mind. Having different notebooks/folders for each class is important because it helps to keep everything under control. I also find that having a weekly planner saves my life. Writing down my assignments for the upcoming week in the very beginning of the week helps to form my schedule and ensures that I wont forget about any classes or assignments. Even if you aren’t that organized, doing these small things to keep your classes under control will help you stay stress-free. 

Work hard play hard

Having this mentality really helps me to grind all my work out and allows me to reward myself with fun activities during the weekend! Having the weekend full of fun to look forward to makes me want to work that much harder during the week to finish everything ASAP! I always feel so much better when I worked hard throughout the week and finished all my work by Friday because then I have the weekend to be stress-free, have fun and be social.

In the end, there isn’t any one specific thing you can do to prepare yourself for the hard semester approaching, but these are some of the things I do to stay organized and well prepared! I believe being the best version of yourself is all you can do to prepare. So, good luck, and if you do what makes YOU feel best, you will have a successful start to your semester. Go bucks!

Katriel Orlean was previously an intern for the National Writing Program at Her Campus as well as the Instagram and Facebook editor at her Her Campus's Ohio State University chapter. She created graphics for her chapter's Instagram and Facebook, posted new articles on both social medias, and helps to recruit members through Instagram. During her time as a writer for the NWP, she wrote evergreen articles as well as articles that are news based. She wrote about five to six articles per month for this program. Beyond Her Campus, Katriel was an intern for Spoon University where she wrote 8-10 articles per month. These articles were sometimes evergreen and mostly they are based on timely news in the food world. She is a recent graduate from The Ohio State University, with a degree in Communications Analysis & Engagement. In her free time, Katriel loves to travel, workout, play tennis and pickle ball, and hang out with family and friends. She is a buckeye through and through and loves to exude all of her school spirit at the Ohio State football games. She loves to write, especially for HC!