Let’s be honest. College move in day is jam-packed full of all sorts of emotions. Between you and your roommates and all of your families, it is a day full of feelings that you’ve never felt before.

STAGE ONE: EXCITEMENT

As you’re on the highway to college on move-in day, and you see the exit sign for your school, it is like a switch. Something inside you flips and instantly you’re so giddy!

STAGE TWO: NERVOUSNESS

The closer you get to your dorm, the more real it is all becoming. You’re actually doing this, you’re living on your own in *tight* quarters with another person, you’re being responsible for yourself, you’re an adult.

STAGE THREE: SHOCK

That feeling when you unlock your dorm room for the first time and the room looks like a prison cell- yeah that’s shock. How the heck is all your stuff supposed to fit in here?! This closet is tiny, where is the futon supposed to go, how are we going to do this?!

STAGE FOUR: STRESS

As you begin to unload cart after cart of box after box, the stress builds- the room just seems to be getting smaller and smaller, but how in the world is all this stuff supposed to fit?STAGE FIVE: HOT

Anyone who has ever moved into a dorm room in late August (or anyone who’s helped) knows this feeling all too well. The non-air-conditioned dorms don’t matter much a few weeks into the year, but oh BOY do they matter during move-in day. The sweat is dripping and the tensions are high as you try to get everything done quickly.

STAGE SIX: SADNESS

Once you get everything set up and realize that there’s nothing left to do but unpack and decorate, a sudden sadness comes over you- the rest is up to you. Your parents have nothing more to help with, so they get their things to go. This goodbye is the longest and hardest, you’re on your own and neither of you know how this is going to work.

STAGE SEVEN: RELIEF

As you and your roommate start to get the room set up, you can finally start to see it coming together now. It’s looking more like a place you can see yourself living for a year, somewhere that you will have stories about for the rest of your life.

STAGE EIGHT: HUNGER

Now, keep in mind that you’ve been laboring in the heat for hours on end to get your room set up. You deserve a break and a real meal! Do you make it easy and go to the dining hall, or prolong that endeavor for as long as possible?

STAGE NINE: EXHAUSTION

Some might say it’s a food coma, but if you ask me, that exhaustion is a given with how hard (and hot) of a day you have just had. Emotions running high and heat even higher, it’s no doubt that after all of it you’re ready to put some Netflix on and crash.

STAGE TEN: CONTENTMENT

As you climb into your lofted bed, you look down at all the work you’ve done throughout the day with pride and elation- this is your home now, and it’s going to be a place where you create some of the best memories of your life.