The āber months are upon us, which also brings the season of Fallā¦ semester. While yes, school can be exhausting, and draining, and generally disheartening, it can also be that perfect ādark academiaā idea we were all chasing back in 2022. Luckily, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for making it feel more āRory Gilmoreāāeven if you go to a school like UB that is composed of brutalist architecture and fluorescent lighting.
1.) Ā Have a Morning Routine.
I know, mornings are busy and time (and sleep) does not come in excess while in college. However, the type of routine I am referring to with this is not the āGet up at four in the morning and work out and study and shower and get ready and eat breakfast and then solve world hungerā type of thing. If that works for you, great! But for someone who is usually up late finishing a paper or just getting home from her night classes and extracurriculars at ten p.m. everyday, that sort of thing does not work (and believe me, I have tried).
Instead, maybe give yourself an extra thirty minutes or an hour, instead of waking up twenty minutes before you have to leave. This way, you can have a cup of tea and put on a show while you take your time doing hair and makeup, you can actually have breakfast instead of grabbing a piece of toast and eating it in your car (been there, done that). Just little things in the morningāa little extra āyou-timeāāmakes a big difference, because it makes you feel like you actually had a morning, instead of just rushing to get to class. This sort of bleeds into my next point:
2.) Ā Cute-ify Your Life
Just add stuff. Small habits, small things. Light a candle when you study or shower, drink copious amounts of tea, play music when cleaning your room, put fairy lights on your desk. Make everything more ambient. Low lighting, way too many Pinterest boards, cute outfits even if you are only going to class. I know, personally, that if I do my makeup all nice and put on an outfit I love, I am much more likely to feel productive compared to the days that I show up in a hoodie and sweats with my hair flat and my makeup half-done. Make yourself feel like the main character.
3.) Ā Gaslight Yourself Into Thinking Your Life is a Movie.
When in doubt, lie to yourself! Your brain does not really know the difference. So, pretend you are the main character in some 2000s teen film, that your life is playing on a screen somewhere. Nobody would turn on Gilmore Girls for the comforting Autumn vibe it brings if Rory was only doomscrolling in her bed. Also, just like in movies and shows, life really does look different depending on how to frame it. You are not ādragging yourself to your lecture,ā you are strolling to class in your adorable outfit and perfect playlist on a crisp Fall morning to study something you are passionate about. Sounds better, right?
4.) Ā Change Your Surroundings
This is a big one for students that go to a school like UB that isā¦ letās just say it does not have the aesthetic value of a school like Yale. Many of the libraries are aggressively bright (one of them does not even have books) and letās be honest, a girl can only stare out the dystopian-feeling windows of Lockwood for so long. Luckily, UB is a huge campus, and there are little nooks tucked away if you look for them enough. Also, I will always recommend going to coffee shops! If you do go to UB, Overwinter is about a ten minute drive from north campus and Raha Coffee House is a walkable distance from south campusāboth of which I would recommend. Remember, a cute study spot is a productive one.
These are just a couple tips for romanticizing college, but hopefully they will put just a bit more pep in your step for those days when sunlight is getting shorter and shorter and assignments are only getting longer. With that, I am off to finish an assignment with my classical music playing and a candle burning on my desk, with a caramel latte next to my computer and my fairy lights turned on. Happy Fall Semester!