As the cherry blossoms bloom and finals week approaches, the spring semester is nearing a close. It can be hard to fathom how eight months have passed since we moved into our dorm rooms in August and began this year of our college experience. I often ask myself the same questions: Where did the time go? How can this many months feel like a week or two? It is important to savor every college memory, but our brains can only recall so much detail. To solve this dilemma, here are some tips to cherish your year on the Heights.
A Memory Box
Ever since Middle School, I’ve repurposed old shoe boxes to hold mementos, symbols, and trinkets from the year past. I leave them under my bed or in some rarely visited drawer, and then I happily rediscover them months later. To make one of your own, take an old unused box, preferably a shoe box, and gather any little items or photos that remind you of the year you want to remember. Next, decorate the outside with photos, paint, and a label indicating what the box is commemorating. Then, compile your items and place them inside. You can organize the items in a certain way, perhaps in chronological order, but that’s up to you. Decorate the inside however you like, this is your year! Lastly, my favorite part, store the box away and let yourself forget about it. Finding it again is such a joyful experience!
Scrapbook
A scrapbook is a classic and easy way to put your memories to the page. Similar to the memory box, for a scrapbook you’ll want to assemble any tokens of your year. Print out any articles, photos, stickers, or decorations to attach to your book. Scrapbooking is also a great activity to do with friends! The more minds the better—together, you can ensure no crucial memories from the year are left out. Whether a group activity or solo, leaving letters within the book is a sweet way to encapsulate your feelings at the time the book was created. With friends, you can take turns writing letters to each other or adding comments on pages. Or, if this is an activity you prefer to execute alone, mark up your book with comments to your future self.
Playlist
Go back, scroll through your Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever platform you use and accumulate any songs you loved this year, heard at a party, or were introduced to by a friend. Turn these meaningful tunes into a playlist of the year. You can also listen to this while making your memory box or scrapbook. A few years down the road, listening to this playlist again will make you feel the nostalgia and remind you of a younger self. The headliner of my freshman year playlist is “DOGTOOTH” by Tyler, the Creator because it reminds me of the beautiful spring days on campus. Happy listening!
