Life
10 College Essentials For Seniors Who Want This Final Year Of School To Be The Best One Yet
Your senior year of college is one that you will remember (more or less) for the rest of your life. It's a mixed bag of emotions speckled with your typical college ragers and the impending doom of not knowing how the rest of your life will look. Here are essential items for college seniors who are looking to smooth the transition between college and "real life."
This year is your last chance to make enduring memories in a place where your entire social world lives within a two-mile radius. It's also a time when you will be unbelievably busy trying to figure out what to do with the rest of your life, profoundly sick of every restaurant in your neighborhood, and wondering why you ever started hanging out with some of your friends in the first place. You'll get caught up in the drama of stressed out 20-somethings with boatloads of free time. You'll get a bit burned out, for sure, whether it happens while working on your thesis, or as you're trying to make some memories as hard as you can.
But fear not, my little Class of 2016, this restlessness will pass. You'll inevitably move away to start your grown-up life, and become nostalgic like you wouldn't believe about things like your local college diner, and even those friends who drove you a little nuts. People who were with you for the weirdest and hardest of times will become family, even if they live far away.
So, in preparation for the rest of your scary, undecided life, make sure you invest in these 10 things to get you through the best of times — and the worst of times — of your final year of college.
Image: Urban Outfitters
A Way To Display Photos From The Last Three Years
Metal Photo Clips String Set, $12, Urban Outfitters
In the depths of writing a midterm paper, you’ll find yourself alone in your apartment, begrudging every single one of your friends who isn’t stuck inside, shackled to their computer on #SundayFunday. What do those friends look like? Have I had any fun in college at all, or have I been stuck in a homework vortex for three years? Make sure you hang some analog reminders of the good times near your designated homework chair, and stay off of Instagram. It’ll keep things in perspective.
Image: Urban Outfitters
Get Yourself Some Kitchen Essentials So You Can Cook At Home
As a senior, you’re probably not living in dorm-land anymore, which means, you likely have your own itsy bitsy kitchen. Fill those cupboards with enough tools to make a killer pasta dish, some gourmet quesadillas, or pizza on a bagel. It will be less depressing than instant ramen, and if you order Panda Express one more time, you’re going to turn into an orange chicken — so become your own personal chef.
Image: Kohl’s
On A Similar Note, Buying A Crock-Pot Will Change Your Culinary Life
I can’t say enough about how wonderful it is to own a Crock-Pot. Dump a large chunk of meat in the slow cooker with some vegetable stock in the morning, and return to a beautiful pot roast that would make Martha Stewart proud. It also basically makes chili, soup, and curries for you without the drama of, you know, burning down your place.
Image: Crock-Pot/Amazon.com
Bed Linens That You're Not Ashamed To Show Off From Time To Time
For starters, having pretty bed linens is a quick way to make your room look great. Because you’re not living in a castle, the sheets and blankets on your bed are probably taking up somewhere between 50 to 60 percent of the visual space in your room. If you make the bed, half of your room is magically clean and decorated. Additionally, odds are, you’ll have at least one visitor in your bedroom at some point during senior year. Having a cozy place to cuddle wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Image: Urban Outfitters
A Comfortable T-Shirt Collection, Preferably That You Acquired For Free
Senior year, you’ll likely spend a significant amount of time posted up in your apartment, unwinding with some close friends, losing at card games, and eating delivery pizza. This activity calls for a perfectly effortless wardrobe — a soft t-shirt, cute jeans, and no shoes. Free college t-shirts also double as the perfect pajama collection for the rest of your life.
Image: 7CitiesVintage/Etsy
Wall Art That Didn't Come From A Campus Poster Sale
'Our Secret Harbor' Art Print by Aimee Stewart, $17, Society6
White walls, or walls that are covered in scotch-taped Garden State posters, are for dorm life. For your senior year, find an artist whose work you actually enjoy, or create something yourself to fill the void left by the frayed collection of Vargas girl posters that I know you threw away after junior year. During my senior year, I painted a tree on my wall, and hung up a series of portraits of the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles eating pizza. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it just has to be creative.
Image: Aimee Stewart/Society6
A Good Concealer For When You Do Decide To Go Out On The Town
Kevin Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer Concealer & Foundation, $48, Sephora
For days when you plan on networking to get a foot in the door of your impending career, or for nights you decide to go out on the town, have a concealer that’s right for your skin tone in your beauty toolbox. Because it’s college and maybe you pulled an all-nighter… or maybe you went out for Wednesday night at your local western-themed nightclub (trust me, try as you might, you’ll never learn). Either way, you’ll undoubtedly be sleep-deprived. So when the occasion demands that you not look like The Walking Dead, brighten up those dark circles, and look your best.
Image: Sephora
A Jacket That Can Take You From Professional Human To Bar Princess
If there’s any corollary anxiety left over from years of dance recitals, it’s that wardrobe changes are a stress-inducing mess. Be prepared for the many kinds of activities you’ll need to participate in as a senior with a jacket that can take you from day to night without having to reconstruct your whole outfit.
Image: H&M
A Signature Drink
Here’s my advice when it comes to building your alcohol vocabulary — pick a kind of beer, a wine, and a (non-margarita) cocktail that they could reasonably have at any given bar. If you do drink alcohol, it’s useful to be able to adapt your order to the occasion.
Image: yelp/flickr
A Printer/Scanner So You Don't Have To Drive To The Library At 2 a.m.
Because a lot of things about college are stuck in the 20th century, you’ll still be expected to have paper things to turn in to some of your older professors. Schlepping to the library to print a paper for peer review is a pain… that’s why it’s best just to get a printer at home. This can double as your photo printer for all the analog pictures you’ll print to hang on your wall, and as an added bonus, you can easily scan and catalog receipts and paperwork for filing your taxes at the very last minute during your first year as a grownup… something to look forward to.
Image: Best Buy
