#20 Be Online

Get facebook.

If you already do, you should check it.

These days, staying in touch is one of the most important parts of life. Maintaining an active twitter account, using instant messengers as much as possible and saving money on cell phone bills by using Skype are all vital to a modern lifestyle. Furthermore, invest in a Blackberry or iPhone so you can update twitter and facebook as much as possible. Although only get a data or text plan and don't waste time calling people.

You may also want to consider starting a blog.

Aside from frequently checking your FB updates and celebrities tweets, maintain an active flickr account. Be sure to include party pictures, pets, and anything else that looks really cool and is near you when you've got your DSLR handy. Which should be always.

The point of maintaining an active life online is actually two fold. For one, engaging in modern pass times and keeping up with current trends shows you are in touch with the world and are social. When hanging out with friends or going to events, keep in mind: if it's not on twitter it didn't happen!

Secondly, immersing yourself in the digital world means you are embracing the contemporary. Do you want to tell your grandkids, who will probably only talk to you via email or hollogram chats, that you didn't visit Stumblupon, troll 4chan or untag yourself on facebook? NO!

All those things you think you should be doing, DON'T DO THEM! They aren't going anywhere! If you leave that essay untouched for a day, it won't go bad. But the internet is a living, breathing thing! It ebbs and flows with the seasons (television), lives and dies with the memes!

Engage in the present! Don't let life pass you by! Grab it by the touch screen and really LIVE!!

If you can't prove, via flickr, facebook or blogger that there is a heart beating in your chest, one that goes to parties, went to the mall that one time or had a Macbook with Photobooth, you haven't lived.......

#19 Wikipedia

It's your best friend.

#18 Share Ideas

Sharing is a beautiful thing, and as a terrible student, you should embrace it fully.

Fundamentally, sharing is the act of exchanging information. However, there are no rules about when or where you contribute your portion of the exchange. What this means is that you are allowed to share information with lots of different people, but you don't have to give them your side of the exchange right away.

This is most useful when you have to write an essay, or any other kind of paper, as the school has provided you with a bountiful source of information to share - it's called a library.

You can share ideas with library ALL THE TIME! And the library isn't waiting for you to give back anytime soon. So use the library liberally next time you need to fill up a word count, run out of ideas or don't have the time to write most of your paper. The library won't be offended.

#17 Listen To Music No One Has Heard Of

It will make you cooler.

#16 Practice Dissent

Keep your profs on their academic toes by pointing out every flaw, mistake and decision they make. This also includes bringing up typos, mispronunciations and grading. Most importantly, be sure to challenge every grade you get. Marking is an experience, and if your teacher is burnt out by the time they get to your paper (common if you are either very tardy, very on time or have a last name like Zuckermann), they are more likely to skimp on actually accessing your work.

Be sure to apply this theory to all assignments you hand in, but especially those you don't. How are they sure they didn't lose it, right?