To Do List

This post is not really a funny story, but something I wanted to share anyway. I wrote this To Do List for my graduating student council officers; I hope you find enjoyment reading it.

To Do List (Complete per Ms. Fusaro’s Instructions)

1. Share a bathroom with multiple people. This is a humbling experience. It will teach you humility, grace, and how to love yourself no matter what.
2. Find one professor you love and take as many classes with him/her as you can; even if you don’t need the classes.
3. Start your papers the day they are assigned to you. I promise, you will never say, “Wow, I wish I waited until the last minute to do this.”
4. Make “happy lists” with your new friends. You will get to know them even better, you will remember the best parts of home, and you will laugh your butts off. Oreo milkshakes were on every happy list I wrote in college. Don’t drink them every day. Gaining 50 pounds because of Oreo milkshakes did not make me happy.
5. Take care of your health. It’s easy to ignore it when you’re so busy, but you will not be productive if you don’t feel well. Go for walks at 3am around your campus. Walking is great to clear your mind. But maybe bring a friend…staying healthy means staying alive, too.
6. Apples wake you up way better than coffee. Love coffee, love apples more.
7. Fall in love. With her, with him, with art, with engineering, with the simple quiet, or the din of city, just take a breath to appreciate and fall in love.
8. Let there be music! Spend money on great music and play your favorite, horrible songs while you get dressed to go out with your friends. You’ll appreciate this more 10 years later when you hear the song on the radio and feel super-cool again.
9. Be careful when you go out; bad things do happen. Never allow yourself to have so much “fun” that you are not able to hail a taxi and get the heck out of wherever you are.
10. Read! Most of college is independent study and you really won’t be able to follow along without reading.
11. Studying for a college exam is not anything like high school. Exams will be few and far between, tons of material on one test, study a little bit every day to ensure you’re actually learning.
12. No grade-grubbing in college. Professors hate it. Only question your grade if you can prove there was an error.
13. Electronics are fun to have in class, but have many distracting qualities. Do yourself a favor and use old-school notebooks; it will force you to focus on your study at least while you’re in class.
14. Persevere. You will want to quit sometimes, but step back to make sure you’re studying what you truly love. If yes, push through, if no, make changes.
15. Get a meningitis shot! Get booster shots! Get the HPV shot! Immunize.
16. Don’t worry about your future. Worrying about your future will not affect its outcome. Making smart decisions to secure future endeavors is not the same as worrying.
17. Don’t bother being jealous of anyone. Life, in the long run, is only a race with yourself.
18. Play. Go outside. Play tag, manhunt. Create a scavenger hunt. Just play.
19. Bring lots of Disney movies with you to your dorm room. Singing Disney songs with my roommates always made my happy list.
20. Never tolerate cruelty. Accepting cruelty to yourself, to others, to animals, is just the same as being cruel.
21. Donating your time is far more valuable than money. The same will apply for your friends, your spouse, your kids, your pets. Money can buy anything but time.
22. Appreciate your parents. We never do until it’s too late, but every now and again, stop to tell them you love them.
23. Thank the teachers in your life who inspired you. Lawyers get people out of jail, doctors heal; teachers rarely get to see their final products.
24. Buy cozy, squishy socks. Treat your feet kindly. Spend the money on good-quality shoes.
25. Do something that makes you scared every day. Sometimes that’s sky-diving, sometimes that’s asking him/her out, sometimes that’s saying I’m sorry. Just do it.
26. Try anything once.
27. Learn how to speak publicly. In a world of technology, anybody can calculate anything (that’s what Google’s for), but only the rare few can speak to the masses.
28. Hang out in Central Park with your friends, watch people, blow bubbles, watch people as you blow bubbles. You’ll help them find their childhood for a brief moment. Best. Feeling. Ever.
29. Remember that your job won’t go to your funeral. Don’t get so wrapped up in your career that you forget the people who supported you.
30. Appreciate seasons. Throw snowballs. Crush leaves. Plant flowers. Run your toes through the sand. With this crazy weather, who knows if we’ll have seasons in the future?
31. Always keep a pack of thank-you cards handy. Thank people with a hand-written card.
32. Respect your body. It is your temple, your vessel to your existence. Treat it better than you do.
33. It’s ok to share your secrets, but remember once you’ve told someone, it’s not a secret anymore. It’s never ok to share someone else’s secrets.
34. Be the friend you wish you had.
35. Be the person your dog thinks you are.
36. Be cautious of anything labeled “free.” Free sample. Fat free. Everything has a price, just be conscious of what you’re willing to replace.
37. Never put anything past anyone. Humans are capable of great evil. Humans are equally capable of great good.
38. Have the faith and confidence to know yourself. You did not fail your final. Your keys are probably in the laundry basket. You left a good impression.
39. Pray. Prayer is a form of meditation; it does not necessarily need to be directed to a specific deity. Sometimes just listing what you are thankful for everyday is cathartic.
40. You will get old. And the worst part of it is - time goes faster every year. The best part? I would never want to be 18 again, ugh.
41. Vow to only count things without true value.  Friendship, love, family cannot be quantified.
42. Stop counting down to vacation; you are wishing your life away!
43. Apply for graduate school your senior year of college. Do not wait. You will never go back.
44. Give yourself goals. Award yourself. Want a new car? Put away a certain amount every month to buy it. Want to go see a movie? Get yourself to the gym. Want to go on Spring Break? Earn at least an A- in each class.
45. Go on vacation to an island with your friends. Take a million + 2 pictures.
46. Never, ever, ever post online something you wouldn’t want your boss/professor to see. They will see it.
47. Speak nostalgically with your friends, but remember to earn new memories.
48. Call your grandparents. Send random cards to Auntie Sue. Facebook Cousin Joe. Family first.
49. Stay up all night and watch the sunrise the next morning. Outside.
50. Remember how much I will always love you.