My Back-to-School Essentials

In just a few days, my second year of grad school begins! I’ve already been doing homework because I’m a nerd and proud of it and I’m ready for the new semester. For everyone else who is about to start or who just started a new semester, I’m sharing my back-to-school essentials to help you get off to a great start. Check out mine and then share yours!

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Writing Utensils – Hopefully pens or pencils are on your must-have list, since you need them to succeed this school year. But if you’re me, the specific pens you use are extremely important. I am all about Stabilo point 88 pens* (and highlighters*, which are perfect if you have trouble with your fingers like me). I have a pack that I bought in April and then I found this great store on Newbury Street this other weekend where you can buy a whole variety of pens – among other things, although that’s what I prefer the most – called Topdrawer. | Check out Note Taking in Class.

Books – Do I need to say it? Get. Your. Books. On. Time. Okay, to be completely honest, this is a little hypocritical of me since I don’t have most of my books yet even though my classes start on Monday, but in my defense, I ordered them weeks ago and am waiting for the bookstore to tell me that they’ve arrived. It’s very annoying. However, unless there’s some issue like this, you really need to get your books and open them and read them and do your homework. Estabish good studying habits now before the semester gets too wild. | Check out Take Better Notes on Your Readings

Planner – On the surface, my life is very boring since I spend it doing school work, at work, at medical appointments, and at home, and that’s it. However, this creates a very busy schedule. That plus fibro fog makes it difficult to remember things off the top of my head, so I require a planner to keep track of appointments and assignments. When you get your syllabi, I suggest sitting down with it and writing in the important things likes assignment due dates so you know what’s coming up throughout the semester.

Coffee – Of course, the biggest essential of them all is COFFEE. I live with fatigue from fibro and living in constant pain, and you add a grad school workload plus a part-time job and my writing/blogging and you have someone who needs the boost caffeine brings. I also have a little thing for coffee mugs, but that’s a story for another day. Anyway, with everything I have going on, I don’t have much time to go out in buy things (and my wallet is very glad of that). That’s why Atlas Coffee Club is so great. They send coffee directly to your door, and you can either subscribe to get coffee from a new country every month or you can buy individual bags. Their service is great and the coffee is even better. If you’re a student with limited time and a strong need for coffee, you should definitely check out Atlas.

What are your back-to-school essentials?

Disclaimer: Atlas Coffee Club sent me this coffee in exchange for a review. I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own.