Let freedom ring!

You know the freedom you’ve wished for every day since kindergarten? Hold on to your bootcuts, because it’s almost here! You can use your senior year of high school to get ready for the responsibilities that will come with college next year. Use senior year to try some new ways of doing things and break some of those bad habits while you’re at it. Once you get into it, you’ll have lots of your own ideas about changes you want to make. Here are a few areas you might want to consider when preparing now for the freedom you’ll have in college.

Take care of yourself
The best gift you can give yourself is the gift of self-sufficiency. It’s as simple as taking responsibility for waking up every morning, making your own breakfast (where’s Mom when you need her?) and making sure you have everything you need to make your day go smoothly.
Learn to do your own laundry. (Dirty socks are a choice, not a must-have lifestyle!) Watch your spending habits. Make a budget and stick to it. Buy a watch to help you manage your time. Start managing other parts of your daily life as well. You’ll be glad you did.

Practice organization
Are you a list maker? Can’t live without your organizer? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants? It doesn’t matter what your plan is, just as long as you have one. If you aren’t already organized, now is the time to experiment with time management. The key here is to find a method that works well for you. Have you ever considered just how many things affecting your life that someone else manages?

Have a commitment to learn
As long as you are going to spend the time and the money to get a college education, why not do yourself a big favor and actually learn something? “As a master student, you control the value you get out of your education. The joy of learning aside, college graduates make about $1 million more during their lifetimes than their nondegreed peers.
It pays to be a master student,” advises Dave Ellis in his book, Becoming a Master Student. Senior year is the perfect time to start perfecting your study habits.

Know your learning style
Find books and Web sites that describe different learning techniques and find what works best for you. Then shape your learning to fit your style so you’ll ace note and test taking in college. Practice time management Adam Robinson, co-founder of The Princeton Review, writes in the book, What Smart Students Know: “Smart students know how to set academic priorities, and they budget their time accordingly. Of course, the real reason you should manage your time is so that you’ll have more of it to pursue your own interests.”

Go to class and study
Take charge of your hours in class. Learn now how to absorb exactly what your teachers want you to know. Actively listen and learn how you can take only the notes you need. From the first day of class, start and maintain a calendar of the entire school year including assignment due dates, exams and a timeline to help you meet deadlines. Once you see what it takes to help you succeed with your studies, use these methods in your classes, on homework and during exams. Take the stress out of your first year of college by figuring out your style of learning before you go!

Get control
Don’t just go along for the ride. Get control of your life now, and you’ll be sitting pretty in the driver’s seat when you start college. Freedom and responsibility can be a beautiful thing if managed well. You’ll see...

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