The start of the fall semester is slowly approaching. And regardless of which year you’re in, new beginnings inevitably come with promises or goals we make to follow through with the rest of the semester. Every UC Berkeley student has had some, if not all, of these idealistic thoughts that flit into their head at some point or another.

1. I won’t fall asleep in lecture.
2. I wonder why I barely go to office hours? I remember that one time I went it was so useful. I should actually go to office hours more often. Maybe I just don’t want the professors to endure my dumb questions.
3. Considering I’ve been a couch potato all summer, I need to get more into shape. Going to the Recreational Sports Facility three times a week is totally doable, right?
4. I won’t leave the studying until RRR Week and cram everything the night before the exam.
5. I won’t get lost in Dwinelle Hall.
6. I will wake up for every 8 a.m. class that I have.
7. As much as sleeping is the most wonderful thing, I need to stop ditching morning classes for the sole reason of getting an extra hour of sleep.
8. Hm, but I don’t want to be so sleep deprived. Maybe I shouldn’t stay up until 1 a.m. so that I can attempt to get eight hours of sleep. Honestly, even seven hours would be great.
9. Then I won’t rely on coffee as much.
10. I will be able to keep on top of my things — schoolwork, work, extracurriculars, friends, everything.
11. I don’t care that Berkeley has all this grade deflation. I need to work on raising my GPA. I’m going to work so much harder this semester. I will ace all my classes.
12. I’ve got to stop joining all these clubs and never going to any of the meetings except when I want free food.
13. I will refrain from feeding the squirrels and having them attack me.
14. I will actually use up my meal points instead of eating out every day.
15. Or if you live in an apartment: I will cook my own food instead of eating out everyday.
16. I feel like I barely participate in lecture. The professors probably don’t even recognize my face. You know what? I should start raising my hand in class to answer a question.
17. I’ve got to stop craving so much CREAM. Especially when it’s late at night and I’m prone to making bad life choices.
18. How have I not visited the UC Botanical Garden yet? I really should get to that.
19. I’ve forgotten my keys way too many times. I need a neon sign on my door or something. I vow not to get locked out of my room so often.
20. Maybe I should be more organized like I was in freshman year of high school with all those binders and highlighters.
21. It would probably be best if I actually read all the assigned readings for class this time instead of just skimming through it or, more often, ignoring it completely.
22. I should start waking up early enough to get breakfast. And I need to stop snacking on so much unhealthy food.
23. I need to get my laundry done on time more often.
24. I feel like I keep meeting new people once and then forgetting about them. I need to catch up with more people that I’ve met.

Once we’ve done all that we will officially reach the level of an ultimate college student. But who are we kidding? After the first week, we’ll be overloaded with work and battling to keep up a social life and reverting back to our usual ways. Still it never hurts to hope for these things to come true.