— Like WellInformedYid said write down what you want to accomplish. You need the reminder once in a while.
—Write down things that happened that inspire you, nice ideas…i have a friend who say in class and a had a seporate notebook where she wrote down different quotes the teacher’s said in class that struck her-i thought it was a really good idea! Also, when you are at people’s houses (Shabbos, Chessed…) and you see something you like-write it down!
— If you eat something at someone’s house that you like, ask for the recipe and have a special notebook for it. By the end of the year you will have a whole cookbook!
— just to repeat what hashemsprincess wrote: Go to the Kosel! Everyone says to, and you think you will but unless you make it a set thing to go a certain day, it wont happen. And, don’t compromise on that day-stick to it even if you have a test the next day or a report due-try not to compromise on it. By the end of the year you feel really good about doing it.
—Someone told me this before I went: Throughout the year and at the begining of the year epecially,many schools go to different kvarim. Keep your spot in Tehillim so you can start where you left off. (I also used that when I went to the Kosel, just stam wanted to say tehillim….)It makes it much more meaningful when you aren’t just saying Tehillim but you are going to finish a few times over.
—DONT SLEEP IN CLASS!!! For some reason in seminary it becomes accepted to sleep in class-i don’t know why because in HS its totally unheard of but in seminary everyone seems to think its ok and its NOT. Its a tremendous lack in Derech Eretz and you are loosing so much you can gain and is that why you worked so hard and came to EY??? If you make that a priority not to sleep and put your head down in class, then youll really feel good at the end to know that you didn’t do what so many others did. (hopefully you wont have that problem in seminary but in case you do….)
—Bring a recorder and use it a lot! ask the teacher’s first to make sure but usually they dont mind-those recordings are pricless afterwards!
—Ask questions! This is very likely the end of your Limudei Kodesh education-take it all in! (Also, when else do you have a year of only Torah and Limudei Kodesh?)
—By the Yomim Tovim-take it all in. In EY, Shabbos and Yom Tov are so different than in America.
Hatzlacha Rabah!!!!