Going on a trip is so much fun! You book a place to stay, you get away from life for awhile, you get to visit a new place, and you get spend time with friends and family. Just like a trip, college is tons of fun. You live with your friends, go anywhere you want, whenever you want (except when you have class of course), and are opened up to door upon door of opportunities you never could have imagined. But along with these incredible experiences, comes the increasingly less incredible experience of packing. No one likes packing. Packing is the worst and we all dread it. But unfortunately, it is essential, no matter how awful it may be.
1. Not Having Any Idea What To Pack
You look at the empty suitcase lying in front of you and don't even know where to start when it comes to packing. The thought of physically moving your stuff into a suitcase is tiring. So of course, you head to Pinterest to find an already made packing list! But even this is overwhelming. And usually, Pinterest has ten times the amount of stuff you were planning to pack on their lists and makes you feel like you need to go out and buy more stuff so you will be fully prepared. Yikes.
2. Feeling Like Everything Needs Cleaned Out
As you begin to pack, you realize just how much of a mess all of your stuff is. Your closet is a disaster, your desk is totally cluttered, and everything needs cleaned out. No, this can't wait until after you get home, you must clean everything NOW. If all of this stuff isn't out by tomorrow, you will never leave for the trip!
3. Distractions
So now, as you clean out everything in your room, you begin to find things that you completely forgot existed! Childhood toys, that CD you lost 4 years ago, and old yearbooks suddenly appear. And of course, now is the PERFECT time to look through everything. Before you know it, an hour has gone by and your suitcase is still empty.
4. Not Knowing What To Do With Your Stuff
After realizing you need to get yourself together, you realize you have all of this stuff you should get rid of, but can't. What happens if you ever do fill that picture frame you've had since elementary school? Or what if your old Barbies are really valuable and you could potentially pay for college by selling them on eBay (even if the dog chewed off one of the arms?). Hoarding is a slippery slope that normally leads to more hoarding.
5. Losing Things
It's inevitable; the one thing you just HAVE to have in your suitcase is gone. Disappeared. Walked off the face of the planet. And of course, you have looked everywhere. Running around frantically is a great way to get all of your packing done...not.
6. Not Enough Room In Your Suitcase
You finally have everything you need, including 30 shirts, 10 pairs of pants, and 12 pairs of shoes...for a one week trip. But it's okay because you NEED them. They just don't make suitcases big enough these days, that's all.
7. Having To Ask For Help
Sometimes, you just can't do everything on your own, and packing is one of those things. You've tried your hardest to fit everything into your suitcase, but it just isn't possible. Somehow, your mom waltzes in and makes your clothes just float into the suitcase; everything fitting perfectly, like she's a magical packing wizard or something. But hey, at least someone knows what they're doing! As long as the packing is done, nothing else matters.
