For many of us, our college days are among the best in our lives. We meet new people, explore new destinations, and learn more about ourselves as we take our first tentative steps away from home. Oh, and we also get to grips with academic subjects that can be the foundation of our future careers. The coursework and exams we have to endure may not be highlights but the knowledge we gain can shape the people that we become.

But what about when college ends? It would be a shame to forget about all the wonderful experiences that have blessed our lives, no matter how many other new memories we make in life.

So, if you have just started college, or if you are currently preparing for life after college, here are some ideas for preserving your college memories.

#1: Take lots of photos

It's an obvious thing to say but photographs are ideal for preserving memories. The earlier you start taking photos the better as the more memories you will be able to accumulate.

So, get your parents to take pictures of you as you first step through the college gates. Take photos of the friends you make and get bystanders to take groups shots of you all together. And at pivotal moments throughout your college life, such as a weekend away with friends or moments during your college graduation, make sure you have a camera (or a phone) handy.

You can upload any digital photos you take to the cloud, so you can be sure they will be there forever. There are tips here on how to clear iCloud storage if you need to make space for the hundreds of photos you may take.

You could also create a scrapbook of photos, be that one that can be stored online or a scrapbook made the old-fashioned way with paper, card, and sellotape or glue!

Include a few words with some of the photos you preserve, with details of where you are, who you're with, and how you were feeling at the time. A memorable quote or two from the day might also be useful for bringing up old memories.

#2: Write a journal

People may say a picture is worth a thousand words but a photo can't always convey the emotions and personal tidbits of information that a journal entry can. A daily or weekly recap covering the things you have been doing or thinking will give you something to look back on, and it might trigger other memories in the process. You can express certain feelings by relaying moments that made you feel happy, excited, and even sad. And as we said in the last point, you could write down memorable quotes too, be they from yourself, your fellow students, or your college professors.

Your journal doesn't have to be deep and meaningful. It could simply be a recollection of jumbled-up stories, no matter how insignificant they are at the time. It might be only later when you look back on these stories collectively that you will start to remember just how important your time at college was.

#3: Start a blog

(Unsplash CC0)

There are loads of great blogging platforms online, including WordPress and Tumblr, each of which can be ideal for starting a student blog.

Initially, your blog can be a way for you to stay in touch with family and non-college friends about the adventures and experiences you are having. You can include photos of your time at college too so people can see what you are getting up to. Your blog can also be a personal thing, sort of like an online journal, with posts that are for your eyes only.

The good thing about a blog is that it will (hopefully) be online forever. Of course, this can be a bad thing if you post entries that you later regret, although you could always delete these before potential employers or relationship partners get to see them!

#4: Keep a memory box

The size of your box will depend on the items you decide to keep. But whatever the case, it will be good to have something tangible to look back on in years to come.

There are loads of things you could store away, such as ticket stubs to sports games you attended, letters you received from family members, post-it notes left on your college dorm walls, photos of specific events and people, graded coursework and exam papers, study notes, greeting cards, and more.

The only thing you shouldn't keep in there are meal samples from your local canteen, for obvious reasons! If you think they look and taste bad now, imagine how they will look and taste years down the line.

#5: Transform your keepsakes

If you have creative bones (not a medical term) in your body, you could do something with the keepsakes you collect.

You could make a framed collage containing your favorite photos. You could turn your college t-shirts into a blanket. You could turn old photos into works of art by creating sketches or paintings that are based on them. And you could make a calendar each year using the different photos you have taken. If you have a good memory, you could also use these photos on the corresponding months they were taken. Be sure to send these calendars (and other creations) out to your college buddies as gifts they can treasure.

If you aren't skilled creatively, there are bound to be people who could do some of these things for you. Ask your college chums or look online for the relevant professionals.

Finally

The final thing we need to say is this: Make memories. If you live a cloistered life in your college dorm room, you won't make many good memories at all. So, if you're still living out your college days, get out there, make friends, break out of your comfort zones, and have fun! You will then experience lots of moments that you can document and look back on for many more years to come!