back to school. back to school.

here's my hoorah of final first day back to school day.  or so i thought.
not soon after, i realized that becoming a preschool teacher basically means first days of school forever.
yesterday was the "official" first back to school day, even though it didn't really feel like it.
went to work for 4 hours
drove to school
stood in line (sweating to death) for 35 minutes to pick up my final textbook
went to class for an hour, where we went over basics of the syllabus & played child development bingo.
from which i won a werther's original, andee's mint & peppermint patty.
compared to amy's hooplah of being a level 4 nursing student (which started today for her as well) this should all be fairly easy.
of course, in the midst of all this back to school talk, i got to thinking about college round one.  what i did, what i didn't do, how i survived it, and what i should do differently.  this time around, i want to make the most of it (i've already called it my master's degree in mid 20s crisis) and so i came up with some goals.  some lame, some school related, some life related.  i'm sure i could spend time coming up with a bunch of things i should try and go, but i decided to keep it basic.  so with that, i present to you...
the back to school mini bucket list of fall 2013
don't be "that girl"...
you know, the one who carries the large purse AND the backpack?
yeah, i spent the first round of college years carrying the unnecessary shoulder purse.
basically, this one really benefits nothing besides looking dumb.  but that's a priority.
engage
totally not in an "if you like it, you shoulda put a ring on it" sort of way.  nooooo
the first time around, i basically attended to pass. i had a class at sac state i called my "facebook class" because that's literally what i did the whole time.  just to stay awake and look alive.  yes, i passed.  but i didn't actually engage myself as much in that class as i should have.  so here's to reading the textbooks in length, taking notes, and maybe even raising my hand in class a time or two.
make friend(s)
wow.  i'm really making myself out to sound like a terrible antisocial person...  but hear me out.  at sierra, i had my friends there with me.  jenny was always around, i worked at the mall and had friends from there.  basically the only person that wasn't around was erika, but that was just one year she was in san diego.  when i hit sac state, i was there with a get in, get my degree, get out mindset.  i didn't want to "waste time" and apparently that meant making friends.  yeah, i look back now and that sounds really dumb.  LUCKILY i did make friends at sac state, even if they are scattered all over california & canada - whoop whoop second to back row!  anyways, i'm hoping to make a worthwhile friend or two.  someone to hang out with, study with, all that jazz.  i'm not trying to replace friends i have.  just add to the mix.
keep organized, keep on top of it
i'm the kind of person who buys a planner, uses it the first month, and then slacks at it.  this goes along with the "engage" portion...  i need to keep organized and on top of things more so than i usually am.  i'm a master procrastinator like no other, and i'm sure my stress levels would be lower if i didn't do that.  so instead of last minute, i'm hoping to get things done ahead of time instead of last minute.  then i'll be able to enjoy free time and take it easy instead of cramming to write papers the night before they are due.
breathe
yes, i generally do have a lot going on.  i somehow like to do that to myself.  i would rather be over worked & busy than under worked & bored... but i know there is a fine line to that.  having most of my weekend free thankfully will allow me time to step back, breathe a little bit and recuperate before the week begins all over each monday.  also having those days not scheduled to work will give me not just extra homework time, but the ability to escape one direction or another to friends out of town, as well as little breaks here and there.  everyone deserves a little daycation, so i'm not going to let school & work overwhelm me completely.  at least, that's the hope.  and if it does, i'm sure a little retail therapy could help here and there ;)
and during this whole past week i kept thinking to myself "i swear there is a song about going back to school... like the thanksgiving song adam sandler sings, but about school."
sure enough, thanks to youtube, i was proven to be correct.