The day has finally come: It's time to start packing for college. You have probably been waiting all summer to leave the nest and head off to school, but I'm guessing you weren't quite prepared for the chaos that is packing your life away. Here's the stages of packing you will go through when attempting to pack everything you've ever owned away for college.

1. You are fully prepared to take on the task at hand.

After putting off packing until the last minute (maybe even the night before move-in day), you finally take a deep breath and get in the zone. It's go time people.

2. You realize you may be a little more unprepared than you thought.

Everything you bought for school may or may not be organized in little categories like Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (Beyond includes literally everything else that you have no clue what to do with.) Maybe your stuff isn't organized at all and that makes the packing even more fun, ha ha ha.

3. After what may have been a well thought out plan, you realize...

Here's the good news: You can just throw everything in a bag and take it to school but... Here's the bad news: you have to unpack and reorganize.

4. You are just staring at everything you have ever owned thinking:

Now you understand why your parents told you to start packing sooner.

5. You realize you are actually leaving.

And that you still have to pack 3/4 of your belongings.

6. You have major packing to do.

After one or two sob-fests - maybe a mental breakdown - and many, many boxes, you have come out a stronger (and fully packed) person.

7. Just when you think you're done packing...

You remember you forgot a few things, which really turns in to you repacking basically everything you own. And just when you think that is done, it doesn't fit in any box or suitcase.

8. And finally... You are done packing.

But now you realize you still have to say bye to all your friends and family.

Packing for college is nothing that can be anticipated, planned, or done easily. Something will always need to be different and something will always go wrong, but fear not... After reading this list, maybe your expectations for packing will be lowered, and you'll have a much easier experience.

Happy packing everyone.