College doesn’t last forever, but a memory sure can. Here are some unique ways to preserve your time at college.

Your years at college are some of the best and some of the worst times of your life. Documenting the new experience is important because it can be looked back on years down the road. For most students, leaving to go to college and growing from a teen into a young adult is a period of individual growth and freedom. This is an experience that shouldn’t be forgotten. 

Memory box

A memory box can be thought of as a kind of time capsule; years of memories stored in one place. Ideas that can be used for the box are a shoe box, gift box or a Cheez-Its box after its contents have been eaten. A memory box is something that can be done with roommates, friends or significant others. 

Get creative with it and go all out. The outside of the box can be painted or decorated with stickers, fake flowers, stationery and more. Some ideas on what to include in your memory box include polaroid pictures, concert tickets, parking tickets, receipts and even that one paper you surprisingly got a good grade on. 

The importance of a memory box is for it to be something filled with the good and maybe not-so-good memories that can be looked back on with elation.

Diary

Journaling or starting a diary of your college experience is one of the best ways to preserve those good memories. Whatever is put down in ink stays in ink. The diary doesn’t have to be a daily thing; you can choose to only write entries when something exciting or shocking happens. Flipping through the entries you’ve written in five or 10 years will bring you back to a time filled with joy. 

Photos, photos and more photos

A photo freezes a moment in time. It’s easy to take out a cell phone and snap a picture or video of something at college, but repurposing these photos into something unique will make your years at college stand out. 

Creating a private Instagram account with just yourself or with friends is a creative way to preserve university memories. You can post as many photos as you want of the good times and not worry about anyone seeing them. 

Printing out photos and creating a collage, photo wall or album is a classic way of remembering moments lost to time. These photos can be polaroids or photos saved to a phone, computer or tablet. Printing out photos can be cheap and can be done at any local store that provides the service. Printed out pictures are physical objects that can be held onto for years.