Everyone talks about how great college is, but also what things are hard and what to try and what to avoid. But I feel like no one really talks much about what happens leading up to the big send off. Maybe it’s because there’s so much to do and so many emotions surrounding the whole thing. But what I have come to learn from the last week or so as I got ready to come down to Redlands was seven things that no one really mentioned to me:

1. You have a LOT to pack

I don’t think anyone really truly realizes how much stuff one needs to bring to college until they start packing. What goes through your mind throughout the whole packing process is, “oh my gosh this is so much stuff,” and “will I really wear that? Should I bring it?” But in reality, if you think about it, you are living at this school for most of the year. So, yes, you probably need it! Personally, I would much rather have options and slightly too much stuff than finding myself wearing the same six T-shirts and wishing I had packed more. It’s going to look like you’re packing up your entire room (and you probably are) but odds are you’ll need most of it so just go for it!

2. Your leaving date comes faster than you think.

One day you’re walking across the stage at your high school graduation accepting a diploma, and the next you’re rushing to pack for college the night before you leave. The summer going into freshman year of college flies by. Especially if you spend the summer working. In May you say you’re going to do all these fun things with your friends but then you get into the work grind of long days that you just don’t have the time or energy for much normal human social activity. Then it’s the end of the summer and you’re leaving college in two days a realize that you didn’t do half the things you talked about doing. All summer college is on your mind but it’s distant thing, and then the day finally comes and you’re like, “Woah, where’d summer go?”

3. How much stuff you actually need for your dorm.

Your dorm room is your new home. And a home requires a lot of stuff to live in it comfortably. And to this I say two words: Amazon Prime. Amazon will become your best friend to order anything and everything you need for a dorm room. From vacuums, to plastic silverware, to even a snack package. Anything you need to live (which, again, is a lot) should be in your dorm. Plus, not to mention all of the decorations you’re going need to make your room look bomb!

4. Saying goodbye to everyone sucks.

People talk about all the new friends you meet in college, but often fail to mention how hard it is to say goodbye to your current ones. Unless they’re going to the same college as you, you literally have to say goodbye to everyone! From your sports friends, to your work friends, to you regular friends. It starts to set in that you won’t get to see them every day anymore and that it will actually be a few months before getting to see them again... even your pets.

5. Finally, arriving to your new state is a weird feeling.

When the airplane starts to descend onto the runway in the new state that it now your home is weird feeling. You don’t know whether to jump up and down in your seat with happiness and excitement or to starting balling your eyes out. Knowing that you won’t get to see your parents for a while and that you’re living in a different state from them is a new reality that hits you. It’s kind of an over whelming feeling to be honest. But once you get on campus, the whole new atmosphere and adventure of college brushes all those thoughts out of your mind. Then you start talking to someone, you make your first friend and then you realize that everything is going to be OK and that you’re going to love it there!