A Rookie's Guide to University Essentials


O-Week came around way too quickly. Last thing I knew I was in my graduation ceremony, and now I'm sat on the QUT campus waiting around for my Introduction Seminar to kick off. I feel super ready to start, I've had a big enough break (I'll regret saying that after my 1st economics tutorial), and kicking off a double degree just seems like the right thing to do. That being said, I'm still completely and utterly being thrown in the deep end here, I'm definitely a University Rookie. So, apart from my textbooks, I didn't really know what I needed when I was on campus, and I don't think many other first years do either. So I asked around, talked to a few of my friends who have already been, and these are the things I think you need to be taking with you class to class.

The Best Kind of Chaos: Moving Out


My room is full of boxes and flat-pack furniture, my clothes are hidden in suitcases, and I'm currently in a McDonalds using the free wifi to write this because the lack of internet in our house means that I've moved out of home! University doesn't start for another week or so, but I've headed over to my new house, and it's both liberating and nerve-wracking. I mean, day to day it's normal, but in the grand scheme of things it's a big step for anyone. I'm no stranger to moving houses, this is the 11th house I've lived in, but it's the first time doing it on my own (well with my housemates - ty for the help A & B). Seeing as Heya Emily is a personal lifestyle blog, I thought that I'd do a journal type post and talk about moving out and how I'm feeling about it all.

Ways to Wake up Happy

Heya everyone!! With February coming alarmingly quickly, a lot of you are heading off to university or back to work, school and the like. Regrettably, this means less sleeping in listening to a spotify playlist, and more alarm clocks far earlier than we'd prefer. I'm in the uni boat, and recently I've been focussing on waking up on the right side of the bed.

H E R E ' S  W H A T  I ' V E  F O U N D

I love a good sleep in, beyond anything else, sleep is my thing. So waking up in itself does not make me happy. If I hate waking up, then getting up, getting ready and moving on with the day is - well lets just say there's no skipping down the streets. So, personally, waking up happy also involves changing up my relationship with sleep. It took some work, but now instead of focussing on how many minutes I can stay under the covers, I focus on how well I can use those minutes. I suppose you could call it positive gearing? In any regard, working on making the most out of not sleeping in has helped.

After I put everything into effect, regardless of what was happening in my life, I knew I could get out of bed, wake up in a positive mindset and get going to getting what I want.

H E R E ' S  M Y  I D E A S

+ P L A N  I T  O U T
Pretty black and white, but think about the day ahead and think it through, what has to be done, how are you going to get everything sorted. I usually write a list the night before/in the morning and cross things off to make sure I'm getting as much out of my day, and that helps with making sure I feel accomplished. For me, success and contentment correlate very much to my happiness levels.

+ K E E P  R E S T L E S N E S S  A T  B A Y
You wanna wake up happy? Get to sleep! If your body is balanced, there's more than a chance that you will be too. I have a post lined up all about this, but the essence is that with a good sleep comes a good wake-up. You'll be brighter, more alert and the more prepared you are for the day the happier you'll feel. Also, don't go to bed angry or upset. Personally, this just means that I carry those emotions through until the next morning, so try your best to leave them at the door.

+ G E T  I N  A  R O U T I N E
Stress is the number one thing that can impede on your happiness, and when it does it hits hard. I know that changes like starting uni, picking classes and moving out are all stressful things to manage, but get into a routine as quickly as you can. They're a sense of control, which makes your morning so much easier. Your mornings will become more automatic, which leaves time for the next step:

+ M A K E  S O M E  T I M E  F O R  Y O U
Number one thing!! I could speak volumes about how important it is to do things everyday that make you happy. Dog walking, blogging, playing sport, getting a good coffee, getting your culture fix etc. is bound to set you up for a good day ahead. Get the dopamine and the oxytocin and all those great chemicals flowing around your bod and it's pretty much the same as being bulletproof to the less-than-great events that could pop up throughout the day.

What does your morning look like?

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