Life often changes after high school. Many young people chose to leave home. Some opt for post-secondary education and others join the workforce. When you live on your own you gain more responsibilities, which can seem overwhelming at first. But there are a number of things you can do to make this transition easier.
Stay organized
The demands of student-life can keep you busy. You’ll be juggling many things at the same time: finishing homework and assignments on time; preparing for exams, tests; and participating in extracurricular events. As a student living with hemophilia, you also have to keep track of self-infusions and clinical appointments.
One way to help you stay organized is to:
- Write down important dates in an agenda or calendar. Carry your agenda with you to classes so that you can record due dates as soon as you are told by your professor.
- File your class notes in binders so that they are all in one place.
- Save computer files in a backup storage device, like a USB or external hard drive.
Eat well and exercise
A part of becoming more independent is learning to take more responsibility over your eating habits. Eating healthy food and keeping physically active helps improve academic performance.
To help keep healthy:
- Choose healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables and lean meat. Many cafeterias on campus offer healthy choices.
- Join an athletic team or intramurals, but avoid contact sports. Schools often offer a wide range of activities that use flags or two hand touch rules to avoid contact.
- Exercise at your campus gym. Trainers can give you custom advice to suit your particular health needs. Most university athletic centres are free of charge for students.
For more tips on how to eat healthy and stay fit, visit:
Maintain good sleeping habits
When you are in school you may stay out late with friends, or stay up late studying for a test you feel you are not ready for. However, lack of sleep can negatively affect how well you perform academically, as well as your health. Try to get a good night’s sleep and avoid all-nighters.
Manage your money
To help you manage your money wisely, create a budget. This is a plan that outlines the amount and the way you spend money while in school. To create a budget, make a list of all your fixed and variable expenses for the year. Fixed expenses include things such as tuition fees, and rent. Variable expenses are those that can change, such as clothing and leisure activities.
Your budget includes money for:
- tuition fees
- school supplies
- food
- living expenses
- leisure activities.
Once you have created your budget make sure you stick to it and keep track of your expenses. Try not to buy things you do not need and save what you can.