News, Tips, and Insights

After all the stores clear their 4th of July decorations out of the way, they bring in the school supplies. Whether you’re a teen going to high school taking charge and buying her own school supplies for the first time or a young adult headed to college who’s been there, done that, you know the routine: backpack, pencils, notebooks, rulers. Probably even a tablet, too. But you can make the back-to-school experience a lot more fun by shopping a bit “off list.”

Sometimes it feels like you blink and summer’s over. Soon there will be no more sleeping in, no more goofing off and no more pleasantly warm weather. Make every day count. In the last few weeks or days of summer, make a few pleasant memories to make sure your summer goes out with a bang. Call or text your friends and get to work having fun before most of your energy goes toward school and homework again.

Between school work, part-time jobs and responsibilities at home, too many high schoolers let their passions and talents get pushed aside. But there’s a lot of merit to exploring your interests while in high school. Some interests might prepare you for a future career, and your time in a student club, team or organization might prove a resume-booster or a great addition to your college application. This year, as you head back to school, join a team, club or organization and decorate your car with stickers to celebrate your group spirit.

Whether it’s her first year as a teacher or her twenty-fifth, celebrate the start of a new school year for the teacher amongst your family and friends. Make his day with a small gift commemorating his love of education and the long hours he puts in to make sure every child feels valued. Let your back-to-school gift be the first to celebrate a milestone in her career or give her a gift simply because you’re proud of her and the work she does. You needn’t spend much to show the teacher in your life you appreciate her.