Although most Penn State students are back in Happy Valley, this fall semester’s syllabus week — otherwise known as Sylly Week — just doesn’t feel the same. With many precautions against the coroanvirus in place, it simply isn’t as easy to have fun during the easiest week of the semester.

In an attempt to make Sylly Week feel somewhat normal, I turned to my biggest stress reliever during quarantine: Animal Crossing New Horizons.

Given the game’s heavy focus on customization and freedom, it wasn’t too much of a hassle to make my island feel a little more like Happy Valley in the first week of the semester.

Here’s just a few ways you can get in the Sylly spirit on your very own virtual island.

Buy Your Textbooks

Ah, the age-old tradition of spending way too much money on textbooks you’ll never use totally read. While some courses make their textbooks optional, it really is best to just get them out of the way early in the semester so you can have the help from the start.

Unfortunately, the Student Book Store doesn’t exist in the Animal Crossing universe, so I needed to improvise. Luckily, Nook Shopping from the Nook Stop in Town Hall offers a very efficient Amazon-esque service for your books.

Just place an order for 290 bells (a very good deal compared to textbooks in real life) and they’ll get it delivered right to your mailbox the next day. It’s handy that Nook offers one-day shipping without needing to pay for an Amazon Prime subscription.

Stock Up On Penn State Swag

After you get your textbooks, you need to start looking the part. Maybe you’re a freshman a need some Penn State apparel to fit in. Or maybe quarantine hit you a little too hard in the gut and you need some Penn State shirts that fit.

Either way, Animal Crossing gives you the opportunity to express this school spirit with your clothes. Thanks to the efforts of managing editor Matt DiSanto, I updated my wardrobe with plenty of Penn State ‘fits, and so can you!

Simply enter Matt’s Creator ID (MA-1250-2607-5371) in the Able Sisters’ kiosk and you’ll instantly have access to tons of options to wear the next to you go out to town. Don’t forget to mask up, too!

Host A Party

Naturally, the first thing most Penn Staters think of regarding Sylly Week is hosting a rager with all their friends. Given the current circumstances, it’s been highly discouraged to have large social gatherings. As President Eric Barron said, “Do you want to be the person responsible for sending everyone home?”

Thankfully, we can find a workaround here. Animal Crossing lets players invite several friends over to their islands over Wi-Fi, meaning you can hang out with your pals from a safe distance. With its several furniture options including music players, pool tables, TVs, and even Nintendo Switches, there are plenty of options to have fun at your own house and make it feel uniquely you.

Go Out For Drinks

Sadly, the hardest part of sylly week to recreate virtually is the ability to go out to bars with your friends. I couldn’t ignore such an important part of Sylly Week, so I needed to make my own version of the Phyrst in Animal Crossing.

There are a couple of drink options in Animal Crossing that are craftable using DIY recipes, notably including coconut juice and an infused-water dispenser. Using these items, plus a wooden stall and chair, I was able to create my own version of a bar. Unfortunately, there are no alcoholic beverages in the game, but the important part is being able to hang out with those you love!