Hi everyone! Drawing inspiration from the fact that most of my friend group has already started college + the abundance of "off to college!" blog series that have been popping up, I figured I'd go ahead and start my own. For one, I love blogging and it's fun to put together posts! And for two...well, blogging is kind of a catharsis. It's easy to write out any and everything that's going on and take a giant sigh afterward, knowing that someday I'll look back on these posts and be happy I wrote them. Anyway, here's what my countdown is looking like:
Important dates:
Move-in day: September 12th
Classes start: September 20th
Today is currently August 22nd which means that I move into my residence hall in exactly three weeks (Ironically, I didn't even exactly time this actually! I just felt like writing this post today. Good timing, me*pats self on back*)
Here's what's been done so far this week (and please excuse the handwriting. When I made these lists this post wasn't brewing in my head yet 😂):
I made a "college readiness" list of to-do's
I made a rough draft of my anticipated college packing list:
I made an organizational list of how I want to pack things:
I (started) my dorm-friendly recipe list (will report back on progress!)
I did a tiny bit of dorm shopping with my best friend at Target (which mostly consisted of us complaining about why fake succulents are so expensive and me being conflicted about how much I can buy knowing we had to get in a Lyft to go home. It was great).
My godmom and I ordered my new laptop because mine is literally about to fall apart.
We also ordered my dorm package from Roomify which includes my comforter, sheets, some room decor, etc. Here's what it will look like!
I also just finished doing something this morning that is very adult-y, but I speak no word of it until further notice 🙊
What needs to happen next
Although that is a lot to already have in the rearview mirror, the next three weeks are still going to be hefty with preparation. Here's what I have so far:
Make another (few) Target runs for storage/packing supplies + other essentials (like the whole "snack haul" that I didn't know was a legitimate thing)
Actually begin packing using my organizational list (we'll see how effective it is)
Doing a few mandatory online introduction courses beginning first week of September
And ultimately, saying see you later to as many people as possible.
Alright, so here's the thing...
Of course I am excited. Of course I am nervous. Of course I sometimes find myself wondering if it's too late to turn back. Not because anything is wrong, but because this is the end of an era in my life. This is the transition chapter in my book. I regularly listen to Kalyn Nicholson's Podcast called Coffee Talk, and this week's episode was about the ending of life chapters. (Again, what is this timing?)
I'm not going to lie: I cried like a baby listening to this Podcast. It's obviously a relatable topic for me, especially as she talked about how we sometimes want to stay stagnant in our lives in order to keep ourselves feeling comfortable. My life up until this point has definitely, 100% been a long rollercoaster ride, and the highs have been great and the lows have unquestionably helped me become the person I am today. But (I'm getting sappy here, bare with me,) after awhile, the same rollercoaster gets boring as does everything else in life. To keep this metaphor going, I'm thinking of my middle school to high school years as the rollercoaster I'm used to. The one I learned front-to-back, side-to-side, up-and-down. But now, I'm getting off of that rollercoaster, and getting in line for this new, bigger, and probably more scary rollercoaster called moving out, going to college, and really entering the world.
I hope I don't sound like I have stars in my eyes that are blocking me from seeing the whole picture. I know it's going to be tough. I know there are going to be days where I legitimately feel like I just can't do it. I know there will be midterms and finals that don't go as well as I wanted. I know there will be days where I'm aching for people I can't have at my side. I could go on and on...but I'll end with this:
