Frosh Kit

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I felt really sorry for the university students who didn’t get to go away to school last year, especially the first years. Online Frosh Week is just not the same. When I started university, we got frosh kits. So, I made some for my two favourite university students, who had been devoted babysitters. I included every important thing a university student should have. I have listed the items here, in case you would like to make one for your beloved university student.

• Granola

The ultimate study food.

• Kraft Dinner

The ultimate student food.

• Yellow Highlighters

I have tried every colour of highlighter and yellow is the only one that’s easy to read through, once you have highlighted the words.

• Black Pen and Sticky Notes

This part comes with my fool-proof method for studying efficiently:

First, you highlight the important information with the yellow highlighter. On the second time round, you read just the highlighted bits, and underline only the information that you haven’t yet memorized. On the third time round, you read just the underlined parts, putting a sticky note only on the sections you still don’t know. Then you keep going back to the parts you’ve sticky-noted, taking the sticky notes off as you learn the very last parts. This way, you never have to sift through information that you already know.

• Skipping Rope

This lets you do exercise anywhere. I always found exercise woke me up better than coffee. I often took 2-minute study breaks to skip. It woke me up and helped me focus. My friend and I would even bring a skipping rope to campus on the morning of a test to help us cram.

• A Frisbee

Playing Frisbee on campus feels like the quintessential undergrad experience. And you can also use it as a plate in a pinch.

• Key Chain Bottle Opener

Sometimes you just need a bottle opener on your keys.

• Party Smart Pills

These pills prevent hangovers. This way, you can party on a Thursday night and still get up for class the next day. I buy these from my local organic store, Fine Fettle, but you can order them online. I have used them many, many times and passed them out at weddings and bachelorettes. Everyone agrees that they actually work. If you drink a lot, it won’t prevent a hangover, but you certainly won’t get the hangover you deserve.

• Emergen-C

This is a powder that you mix with water and it gives you vitamin C and other vitamins. It helps wake you up when you’re not feeling great. Sometimes at university I wasn’t feeling that well and I wasn’t sure I could keep my commitments. Then I would take some Emergen-C and it would give me the energy I needed to go out to the bar.

• Smirnoff Ice and Strawberry Zinfandel

I remember drinking these when I was young, and feeling very mature.

• A laundry bag

Put all the things from the frosh kit inside a cloth laundry bag. This is how many frosh kits come, and the bag is very useful for carrying their laundry later.

• As an added bonus, I also included a zip-up hoodie with the name of the university on it. I was never without my University of Waterloo zip-up hoodie as a student, and I still have one today.

Good luck to all the students who are not quite getting the experience they should this year and last year. I know you will be great at making up for lost time later!

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