Romanticizing School 101

By: Natasha Magrefte

Whether you’re in high school, college, or honestly any stage of your life that involves

schoolwork and studying, you’ve probably experienced how mentally draining school can be when we let it take over our lives. It can be especially hard to get back into it right after

Spring break, which seemed to fly by. Romanticizing school might seem like an easy thing to

do, but changing my mindset and outlook on it is something I’m still trying to get better at

every day. Here are five simple habits I’ve implemented into my daily routine to make school

feel more enjoyable and less like a chore.

1. Study Dates

I’ve found that planning a study date with a friend or classmate who also needs to get work

done is a great way to hold yourself accountable. Personally, when I’m sitting across fromsomeone who’s really focused on their work, you will not catch me picking up my phone to scroll on TikTok every five minutes. It really is a win-win since you both motivate each other, and you can also meet at a coffee shop and get a matcha to help you concentrate (the combination of caffeine and L-theanine can affect you more than you may think).

2. Get Ready Before Class

While it can be really tempting to get out of bed and go straight to class in my sweats, I’ve

found that my mood at school is so much better when I actually get ready and walk into class feeling confident. While this might mean having to wake up earlier in the mornings, being awake at a time when the world around you is peaceful and quiet can create the perfect start to your day. Overall, I think it’s really important to push yourself to look your best for class. You never know who you are going to talk to or meet, so wouldn’t you want to look approachable, or at least awake?

3. Personalize Your Playlists

This one is a little tricky because if you’re anything like me, hearing one of your favorite

songs while trying to study something can be really distracting. However, there are playlists

literally dedicated to music that helps you focus while you study. Sometimes I find that any

music without lyrics works to keep me in a positive mood without distracting me from my

work. However, listening to music could also just mean listening to your favorite hype

playlist on your way to class to make you feel happy and ready to conquer the day.

4. Be Prepared and Organized

Having an organized bag/backpack with everything you need is, in my opinion, crucial in

order to be calm and collected at school. You should always be prepared for anything that

could happen. Whether that means bringing a bunch of snacks or just an extra book to read or journal to write in, these little things will help your school day to be more successful overall. Something I never leave for school without is my set of colored pens, because color coding makes everything more fun.

5. Watch Gilmore Girls

Ok, so this one may seem oddly specific, but if you know you know. Shows like Gilmore

Girls are the perfect way to get yourself romanticizing school. And if you don’t have time for

that, try watching a minute long TikTok edit of Paris Geller, or just any study motivationvideo you can find. Watching Rory and Paris accomplish so much at Yale really motivates me

to get my work done and make things happen. At the end of the day, school is an amazing

opportunity to learn and expand our knowledge of the world and we shouldn’t forget how

blessed and privileged we are to be able to take advantage of it.