With spring break having just wrapped up for some of us and just starting for others, one thing is looming over our heads: packing. Some people hate it, some absolutely love it, and others just understand the hassle of it. Although, if you’re anything like me, you can never really pack right.

Sure, there’s really no way to pack correctly and there’s not an instruction manual as to how one is supposed to pack, just tips and this weird learned ability on how to pack, learning with help from parents.

Or maybe you’re just some super organized genius who knows how to pack efficiently and able to put as many clothes as you need and maybe more. What I mean in any instance though is that usually I’m either sitting on top of my suitcase struggling to close it, hoping and praying that my zipper doesn’t break, or somewhere around mid-trip an exclamation of, “That’s what I forgot!” comes out of my mouth at a completely random time.

Two polar opposites and yet, either way, it doesn’t end.

I’m not sure about anyone else, but if you’re anything like me and you have these polar opposites of packing, then your suitcase also never really ends up like it starts. With everything nicely organized and folded to fit it in the suitcase turning into clothes laid out with what looks like millions of wrinkles and creases and things looking like they tried to be folded and it just didn’t work and there are things spilling out of the sides of your suitcase basically. And still: everything is shoved in and I end up sitting on my suitcase, slowly budging the zipper, still hoping and praying it all fits and that I don’t break my suitcase…

Back to my main point though, I am always overpacking. I never really pack the right amount of clothing I need for a trip. It’s either me being underprepared or I just shove too many dang clothes in there and hope for the best.

Though I usually end up packing what seems to be the right amount, and then I start thinking, “What if I decide I want to wear this instead?” or “What if the weather isn’t right for this?”, even better (note the hint of sarcasm there) the “Mmm on second thought, I don’t want to wear this together, but I can wear it wiiiiiiiith this, this, and this!” So to me, packing is legit THE WORST.

I’m not a fan, but what’s worse than packing, is unpacking. No one likes it really, it’s doing laundry and taking out the clothes from your trip, or your peaceful existence away from the educational institution you bound yourself to (aka college).

In all of this, though, I will say that packing isn’t some sort of art, it’s not a step-by-step procedure as to “how to do [insert thing you do here]” and it definitely isn’t some sort of natural ability you are born knowing how to do.

Packing is a process, it’s figuring out how to shove a week and a half's worth of clothing into a carry-on sized suitcase… Not easy, let me tell you that. So, wherever and however long you go on your next trip, good luck packing! I hope you more luck than I have and that you have space for whatever you choose to bring back with you.