College students, we've all been there. We've all been through the process of packing our entire life into a tiny car, driven a few hours down the highway, then proceed to unpack the car and carry everything up flights upon flights of stairs. Meanwhile, the sun is blazing down on us with no mercy in his rays. These are thirteen thoughts you have on move-in day at college.
1) It didn't look like I packed this much stuff while I was packing it.
Packing is a deceiving process. Often times, you have such tunnel vision on packing that you forget how much you've already packed. Even if it doesn't look like much when your boxes and suitcases are stacked neatly in a pile, don't be deceived: it will be nearly impossible to fit everything into the car.
2) How many more trips will this take?
Regardless of whether you are a light-packer or if you take every single thing you own with you, the moment will come that you wonder how many trips to your dorm from the car it will take to carry in all of your things. By this point, you are tired from carrying everything, hot from the exercise, at odds with the people trying to help you, and most likely hungry. Not to mention the fact that sun equals more heat and rain equals misery, when moving in.
3) Can't my room be just another foot long/wide?
Sometimes, a foot is all you need to make the furniture fit just right.
4) Will my roommate mind me using her side of the room as a staging area?
If you and your roommate move in at different times, you both have the luxury of being able to spread your things out in a resonable fashion. This makes it easier to move your bed around, and to be able to sort out bedding from clothes and clothes from towels, etc. You can't expect your roommate to respect you unless you respect her back. So if she hasn't moved in yet, be mindful that she's coming. If she has already moved in, don't shove your things onto her belongings. With that thought, use her side of the room as necessary.
5) Did my bedding seriously take up half the trunk?
Bedding is huge. It takes up a lot of room... a lot. If I were smart, I would have vacuum sealed my blankets. When I moved in, I had a huge bag dedicated to my bedding. That bag took up half the trunk.
6) I should have just picked up my textbooks at the bookstore.
Unfortunately, if you had waited until it was close enough to move-in day to choose the pick-up-at-store option, other students would have already purchased the store supply. Therefore, you had to buy your textbooks three weeks before you moved in, and the bookstore only holds them for fourteen days. You had to have them shipped to your house.
7) Is my RA nice?
When you have a great RA, you know that you have someone who will enforce rules when necessary. While this is good and bad, depending on the situation, your RA is someone you should be able to talk to about any concern you might have. A nice and caring RA is more approachable than one who is not.
8) What kind of floor is this going to be?
Obnoxiously loud, eerily quiet, or somewhere in the middle? Is this a floor of strictly party-goers, a floor of students who only study, or a floor of balanced individuals? There are tons of possibilities.
9) Can I have Harry Potter's invisibility cloak?
You feel like you have more stuff than any other college students. You feel like people give you weird looks because of some of the stuff you are carrying. You feel slightly embarrassed, but whole heartedly proud to be a college student that still sleeps with a stuffed animal as you march to your room with your childhood keepsake in your arm.
10) I forgot my ______.
Because somehow, no matter how many lists you made, you brought everything except this one essential item.
11) Why did I bring this?
The age-old question. You bring everything you don't need and forget (#10) what you do need. You bring that sweater you haven't worn since middle school and don't even know if it still fits you because you "might need it."
12) Am I actually going to need this?
You packed it, and now you question if you will need it. Unlike that middle school sweater that you clearly do not need, some items that you pack can be useful. If you packed it, there is a reason why you packed it. Whether that reason be something found under the cover of #11, or whether that reason be a more legitimate reason, you will question the necessity of certain items.
13) How can I make my mom stay for another hour?
Even though you're excited to be back and school again, or to be on your own for the first time, you love your mother and will miss her dearly. Even if you are ready for her to leave, a part of you wishes that you could keep her here with you.
These are only thirteen of the thousands of thoughts that you think of while moving in to college. Whether the drive was five minutes, or you had a twenty hour plane ride from the other side of the world, moving in to college is something that most students have in common, and of those students, all can relate to the horrors and frustrations of move-in day. What are some thoughts that you have about move-in day? Happy Semester!
