Coming to college can be incredibly overwhelming and exciting at the same time. For months, everyone you know has created a “Move-In Day” countdown in their phones and their calendars as a constant reminder to when their freedom away from home will finally begin. However, when the freedom and joy of moving away from home finally comes, you are stuck with a thousand thoughts that run through your mind.

Why do I have so much stuff?

Is this even all going to fit in the car?

I think I need a moving truck instead…

Where am I going to put all of it?

Moving from your own bedroom at home to a space that is small enough to only fit two twin beds, a desk, and a wardrobe of some type, with minimal extra space, can be quite the adjustment for some. You have to learn how to really make your small space efficient, useful, and most of all, feel like your new home. The moment that you are given your keys and you walk up a series of flight of stairs after realizing there is no elevator to help move your things, you begin to wonder more and more.

Where do I go?

Which hall is mine?

Am I even in the right place?

Is my roommate already here?

How do I unlock this door?

Ta-da! You have made it. You have opened the door and you walk in. You stand there. In awe, in shock, and completely dazzled. You cannot believe that the day has finally come and that you really ARE doing this. You made it to college and you are here. Now, you have to dive in and begin because your mother is standing behind you and prodding you to go.

I got the key to my freedom, let the college years begin.

This room is so much smaller than I anticipated…

Which side is mine?

Where do I start?

What do I unpack first?

This room is so small I don’t have enough space to even unpack.

Mom, you’re getting in my way.

While you are standing there trying to take in the moment, the handy dandy Freshman Move-In Crew of upperclassmen students who have kindly volunteered to help you out, are swarming your room. They are putting your boxes, your bins, your life’s values all over the room as fast as you can blink. They are in, they are out, they are up and down, back and forth from the car to the stairs flying straight past you. Before a matter of seconds, they are gone. And it is just you. Your Mom. Your Dad. And possibly a few siblings or friends that tagged along to help you out.

Please don’t break anything.

This was all so expensive.

I hope you did not put my stuff in someone else’s room.

Is it all here?

You begin to unpack. You find a place a new home for everything that you have brought along with you to college. You make your bed, you set up your closet, you figure out your storage system by utilizing your under bed space. But then, your roommate arrives. And your entire roommate’s family. As well as their friends and instantly the room that can barely hold 2 people is holding 15.

Oh no, there is not enough space for all of us.

How are we both going to unpack at the same time?

You brought so much stuff…

I can not move to put any of this away.

What you originally thought would two hours turns into six hours of non-stop packing, organizing, cleaning, and making a space that looked so empty it could be a prison cell transform into your beautiful room. A place you can call home. You are exhausted. You finally finish things up and say goodbye to both your family as well as your roommates family and crew. You can finally take in the feeling of college. You say your goodbyes and your parents might shed a tear or two since it its hitting them that you are leaving now.

Please do not cry, you are going to make me cry.

I am really going to miss you guys.

It feels good to have peace and quiet now.

Wow, this really is happening.

It is just me now.

You open the door and before you know it they are gone. And it is just you, your roommate, and this new space. Between these four new walls, you will break them in and create memories. There will be stories to tell. You will have nights of laughter and joy. You will face stress and sadness. You will face every possible emotion you can imagine. You will grow, you will live, and most of all you will develop into the person you are within college.

Let the journey begin.