My Summer Class Survival Kit

I'm BAAAAAAAAACK! 

I don't know what happened there, just pretend I've been posting this whole time. K, thanks! :)

It's finally summer! We've survived the fall and spring semesters, conquered those finals, scheduled those future classes, cried about our new Monday schedules (mine starts at 9 a.m. and doesn't finish until 6:30 p.m. - ew), and we've bought our new planners for the coming year (Yippee!!). 

The next three months can be spent having camp outs, drinking margarita's (Yippeee!!!), spending time with friends and family, and swimming (just kidding, ew bathing suits).

OR

You work a part-time or full-time job because you're a broke college student with loans out the wazoo.

AND/OR

You're me and you take summer classes! yay.......

This is my second summer with classes on the docket, and let me tell you just how much I hate everything about it. Last summer was torture, with four classes all crammed into six weeks, a trip to Canada (OOOOOO CAAANNNNNNAAADA!) jammed in-between, a 35+ hour-a-week job, a sister in a vocal competition, and the added pressure that these classes may not actually transfer. Needless to say, I was not a nice person for those six weeks: I got about five hours of sleep a night (if that), and basically chained myself to the corner of our sofa which was dubbed The Throne of Education by my family. 

This summer should be a little different with just two classes, a slightly calmer work schedule, and no international trips (OOOOOOOO CAAAAANADA!) on the calendar. However, there is still need for preparation and planning.

If you're anything like me, music = air when you're studying. Last summer I had a solid line-up of playlists that simultaneously helped me focus, and perfectly captured the 2 a.m. two hour long biology exam vibe. There were other things that got me through as well, so here is a list of my must-haves for summer class survival.

1. Tervis o' Water

My brother despises the word Tervis, but this thing was an absolute lifesaver in terms of hydration. By my calculations, I drank about five to eight, 16-ounce Tervis cups of water per day last summer between my eight hours at work and my six to seven hours of school at night. 

If you don't know what a Tervis is, and/or don't already possess one, you may take a gander and purchase one here.

2. TV Table

If you are taking summer classes you are most likely taking them online, which means you need a laptop/computer of some sort. My laptop is not only massive but heats up to roughly the temperature of hell-fire after about an hour of use. I used a TV table to keep my laptop from burning my legs off AND as a place to keep my Tervis close at hand for optimum hydration needs. 

3. Back Support

Since I was using a TV table and because my arms are short, I could not comfortably sit on the sofa and reach my computer. So I sat at the edge of the sofa with zero back support for hours on end, after standing at work all day. We eventually bought a lap desk, and one of those pillow things that's sort of shaped like the back of a chair. Hard to explain but Target has them. 

4. Music

Playlist #1 - "where do my bluebird fly?"

Playlist #2 - "ice in every vein."

These two playlists were the primary entertainment. Both can be found at 8tracks.com. They're a little eerie and strange at times, but great enjoyable background noise. 8tracks in general is a fantastic place to find very lengthy study playlists, so I highly recommend checking it out and making an account, they have music for everything.


My other suggestion is to find playlists on YouTube of your favorite artists. I listened to this entire Hozier album many times.

There you have it, my basic survival kit for summer classes. I did fit food in there somewhere, but there was nothing in particular that got me through, so just make sure you have a few of your favorites in the pantry.

Good luck!

~ The Campus Curmudgeon ~