Goodbye summer, hello school

Summer is officially over. For students, this means saying goodbye to sleeping in, lazing around all day in pambahay, and everything else that goes with vacation mode.

For some, school is naturally exciting. Cecile, who enrolled in a postgraduate course right after receiving her college degree, absolutely loves school. "I got depressed every summer. Whenever June came around, I'd be giddy with excitement," she shares. But, as most students will easily tell you, Cecile is the exception, not the rule. Most students look forward to school as much as a trip to the dentist. Waking up early Like all challenges, a little preparation goes a long way. Making small changes can help ease you back into the school routine, beginning with your body clock. Often, the most difficult thing about going to school is waking up early. After all those late nights watching television or perusing Facebook, you need to readjust your schedule. "Try to adjust your body clock before the first day starts. Maybe wake up at the time you would for school a day before school actually starts, so you can be groggy in the comfort of your own home instead of in class," suggests Antonette, who has just survived two decades of waking up early for school. Joey, who will be going back to school in a few days, shares his crash course sleep habit fixer: stay up one whole day and sleep on the required time the following night. Of course, habits are not formed instantly. Alex, who is not a morning person, suggests trying to start sleeping earlier everyday, so by the time school rolls around, you're used to it. Bogart, who is not a fan of "Filipino time," shares his formula for getting to class on time. "I woke up 3 hours before the time I had to be in school. So if I had an 8 am class, I got up at 5 am. But that depends on how far you are from school and how slow you are in getting ready," he shares. Recycle instead of buying new Another way to get ready for school is to make sure you have everything you need, and this doesn't necessarily mean shopping. Sure, the smell of still-wrapped paper is strangely exciting, but recycled paper also has a special charm. "I recycle my old notebooks. Yung mga natirang sheets pipilasin ko siya tapos gagawa ako ng bagong notebook. Masusunod pa yung design na gusto ko!" says Bam, who doesn't like things going to waste. Or, if you aren't up to recycling, you could buy plain (and cheaper) notebooks or fillers, then decorate them yourself, suggests Casey. Instead of going to mall bookstores, you could head to Divisoria for bargains. Also, get your friends to go with you. “Try to have a school supply shopping trip with your barkada. Or schedule a themed study group with friends so that you look forward to the school year and it's something different," says Tin, who loves to shop. There are other ways to save. For instance, you can borrow books instead of buying them. “Look for upperclassmen/friends who had the same teacher/course and buy/borrow their books for less instead of buying a brand new one," says Alex. Bogart adds that you should check if your university has a used book drive. "DLSU had it, but the copies are limited," he says. Or you can simply have copies. Scout for cheap photocopy machines. Usually, the ones outside campus are cheaper. "Befriend the vendors to get privileges, give them cookies as an additional thank you," he says. Of course, while trying to save, you should also make an effort to make the most out of school. "Get tips on which profs to get. Make sure you don't get the lazy profs, you should get your tuition's worth in education," says Bogart. You can also do research about which organizations you can join. "It's something more to look forward to," he adds. It still isn’t easy to let go of summer, but at least you can start looking forward to the school year. – GMA News