A Daily Checklist
Six Things You Seriously Cannot Forget on School Days
{Target Audience: Relatively Functional College Students}
By Grace Carballo ‘17
1) A Pen (or Similar)
Your credibility is seriously undermined if you show up to class, or worse, to a midterm without a writing utensil. Especially if you clearly had time to do your hair.
2) Deodorant is Not Optional
There’s nothing worse than judging the people around you for smelling badly and then realizing that you, in fact, were the culprit. (Not that this has happened to me- I smell like daisies.)
3) Brush Your Pearly Whites
Maybe this is because my Godfather *strokes cat* also doubles as my dentist, but it is just basic human hygiene that you should brush your teeth before class. If you haven’t already made a habit of this, please send me the contact information of whoever raised you and I will send them a strongly worded letter on behalf of the Trojan Family.
4) Food Is Your Friend
I have never understood those who can forget to eat several meals in a row. As soon as the clock strikes 11:00, all I can think about is counting down the minutes until it is a respectable lunch hour (11:30). But, if you need to remind yourself, do what you gotta do because food is a basic human need and you’re not fun when you are hangry. A full day of class warrants some serious snack packing.
5) Directions Are Purposeful
Learn from my foolishness: Yesterday, I answered only two of three essay questions on a midterm although after turning it in, I realized the directions did not call for this; we were supposed to answer all three. I was able to work it out with my TA and professor (S/O to my baller guardian angel), but it was fairly embarrassing and definitely humbling. There is nothing worse than getting a bad grade when you know the material but lacked the common sense to read the prompts thoroughly. Same thing goes for syllabi and any applications; take advantage of your literacy!
6) What Really Counts
Last, but not least, the big picture! Odds are good there are people who care deeply for you that are not on this campus. It is not at all difficult, in this day and age, to wish old friends good luck or happy birthday. Along these same lines, make use of your longest walks to class to call your relatives. In the poetic words of my closest friend, Evan, “Take glamour shots with your old people before they die.” While you may not have the opportunity for an elaborate photo shoot with your elders; don’t neglect them. You probably would regret losing touch with everyone you knew during your formative years. At the end of the day, they matter a lot more than any of these other allegedly important things. Even (dare I say it?) grades.
If you can remember these 6 things with seemingly little correlation, your hygiene will be adequate and your life, relatively purposeful. That’s all anyone can really ask of you anyway.
-Grace
