How to Prepare for a New School Year (Or Any New Chapter in Life)

Post Summary

This guide walks you through practical and mindset-based ways to prepare for a new school year—or any major life chapter. Tips that will help you start the season grounded, confident, and ready.

Whether you’re a senior, a freshman, or someone simply facing a big life change, this post is your roadmap to easing nerves, embracing excitement, and making the most of your fresh start.

Introduction

A new school year always comes with its own nerves, excitement, and expectations—and even going into your senior year, things may still feel no different.

Whether you’re returning to high school, starting college, or entering a completely new chapter of life, the feelings of a fresh start can be overwhelming.

This entry is all about how to prepare for back-to-school season—or any major shift in your journey—with intention, and clarity.

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The Lead-Up

The weeks leading up to school (or any big event) can bring tons of anxiety. Use that energy as a cue to start preparing sooner than later, step by step. You don’t need a complete glow-up overnight—you just need to shift gears gradually.

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1. Fix Your Sleep Schedule

If you’ve been staying up until 2–3AM, now is the time to reset. Start going to bed and waking up just 15–30 minutes earlier each day. Avoid screens an hour before bed and consider following a consistent night routine.

Even though all this prep may just go out the window the night before as you wont be able to go to sleep from all the excitement and nerves. Its the thought that counts.

If you’re currently lacking a routine entirely, check out our entry on Time Management to help you get back on your feet and ready to wake up at 4, 5, 6, or 7AM for the next couple months.

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2. Prioritize Self-Care (In Whatever Form That Looks Like)

Who doesn’t love pampering themselves before a big event? Get your facial, nails done, hair trimmed, and whatever else helps you feel confident and refreshed.

But if that’s not your style, don’t worry. Sometimes, just going to bed early, drinking water, and putting on a clean fit is all the self-care you need.

This is also the best time to refill or restock hygiene staples:

• Body wash
• Deodorant
• Perfume or body spray
• Lotion
• Lip balm
• Hair products

You can even buy scents you can only get around this season like cinnamon spice- just to spice things up! (pun intended)

Trust: you don’t want to be the person no one wants to sit next to on the first day.

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3. Clothes: Dress for the Version of You You’re Becoming

You can shop anywhere for back-to-school or work clothes, but outlets, thrift stores, and even yard sales are underrated for finding affordable, high-quality items that allow you to play with developing your own personal style.

Plan your outfits the day—or even the week—before school starts. It’ll save you time in the morning and help you avoid those last-minute “I have nothing to wear” spirals.

If you want you can check out my own personal Pinterest board for style inspiration with over 800 pinned items including outfits and shoes:

My Style Pinterest Board

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4. Supplies: Buy Smart, Not Excessive

You know that long supply lists your teachers or school sends out? Most of it goes unused. In 2025, all you truly need is a charged-up laptop and maybe a notebook and a pencil.

Don’t waste your time or money buying supplies you already have from last year. Wait until the first day of class to see what you’ll actually need—unless it’s something you already know is essential.

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On the other hand— buying new supplies is a great way to create a new aesthetic for a new school year / chapter of your life and romanticize it.

I just bought myself a very discounted Hello Kitty Sanrio backpack for this fall and it immediately made me ready to go back to school just so I can show it off on the first day of my senior year, but it wasn’t a necessary purchase.

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5. Journal & Shift Your Mindset

One of the most important parts of preparing is mental. You just took 2–3 months off from something that previously consumed most of your life. Or even if you are heading into the workforce or have another major life shift to deal with. That kind of transition matters.

Take time to journal. Reflect on:

• What did I learn this summer?
• What am I nervous or excited about?
• What do I want to do differently this year?
• What do I want to let go of?

If it’s bringing anxiety for you, try to name what exactly triggers that feeling. Is it social pressure? High expectations? A lack of freedom? Once you name it, you can navigate around it.

If you are looking forward to the change in pace, this is your time to romanticize it. Think about what makes the anxiety feel good: the excitement, change in routine, the ability to try new things.

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6. Bring In Spiritual or Soulful Practices (Optional, but Powerful)

This might be the perfect time to check in with your spirituality, whether that’s through prayer, meditation, moon rituals, or journaling.

Some soul-prep ideas:

• Pull a tarot card asking “What energy should I carry into this school year?”
• Write and burn a letter to your old self
• Do a full moon or new moon ritual to call in confidence, ease, or discipline
• Pray or set intentions in alignment with your beliefs

Tapping into your inner world can help you feel grounded, purposeful, and supported.

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A Personal Reflection

school + Friendships

I used to love school—or at least not want to miss a day—especially in elementary. I used to look forward to seeing friends, playing at recess, and just being at school in general. But ever since the start of sixth grade, things felt different.

I don’t even think it was just because of COVID. Honestly, things started shifting for me even before that so-called “two-week break” in March. The break that ended up being a year and a half… maybe even longer in reality.

Back-to-school has always brought a mix of nerves and anxiety for me—mainly the hope that maybe this year will finally be my year. The year I find my crowd.

But I’ve let go of that thinking.

I’ve accepted I’d rather be by myself—or have just one close friend—than constantly be surrounded by people I only connect with on a surface level.

That someday I will find my people. That day just might not be in the here and now.

My Mindset

Going into my senior year, I wish I were already graduating. But we’ve got one more year to go—and I’m going to try to make the most of it, starting with the lead-up!

As I reflect on where I am mentally and emotionally this year, I can honestly say I’ve grown a lot—especially over just this summer writing and creating content for you all.

I’ve become more aware of my triggers, bad habits, and even my preferences, and this time of reflection has made me more confident in my decision to not follow the traditional route after graduation.

I used to stress so much about getting straight A’s as I’ve had perfect grades since middle school. Worried about numbers and letter grades that were supposedly going to “decide” my future— things that, honestly, probably won’t even matter in the long run. And in that pressure, I lost my ability to actually enjoy and absorb what I was learning.

So instead, I want to travel and learn through real-life experiences. I hope doing so brings back the love for learning that’s been stolen from me over these past few years in the K–12 system.

Moving Forward: For you & I

Not to say I would never go to college to further my education, but I want to experience life before I make that decision. To see if its even necessary for me to pursue the life I want to live.

I also encourage anyone else who’s reading this that is a current student unsure of what to do in the future to do the same. Start looking elsewhere for your happiness and personal growth.

Numbers and letter grades aren’t everything—you are.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel for my yearly Back-to-School video (coming soon!) and for other senior year content I’ll be sharing!

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You’re More Ready Than You Think

New beginnings are scary—but you’ve done this before. Every year, every chapter has taught you something. Take what you’ve learned and build upon it.

Choose one thing from this list to focus on each day of the week leading up to your life changing event. You don’t need to become perfectly ready. You just need to be intentional.

We got this.

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Want to dive deeper into time management and routines? [Click here to read our Time Management guide.]