My father had the absolute pleasure of helping me pack clothing the other day. It was only the clothes that hang up, and he didn't say much besides: "Choose things you can wear in more than one way." After making him sit through multiple iterations of the possible interview options, dresses, and nice pants he came to the conclusion it would be best if I split everything into what is going now and what can be swapped out around Thanksgiving.

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This means packing more summery-spring type clothes for the moment with a few winter items mixed in, until the break where I can swap out for more cold weather appropriate clothing. Pre-packing the clothes to be swapped is also required, which means more work for the moment but an easy transition in the future.

His next piece of advice was "be prepared, but not over-prepared." The beginning of the year at UMaine can range from sweltering heat to icy cold. Last year I packed expecting a quick fall leading into winter-like weather. I couldn't have been more wrong. The first two weeks alone were up in the 80s and 90s. I had mostly pants, with only a few dresses and two or three pairs of capris. It felt like I was melting whether I was inside or outside.

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Be prepared: bring items of clothing you can layer and have enough to get you through the heat or the cold. Don't be over-prepared: don't bring everything up all at once, you won't have the room to keep it all or the opportunity to wear it all. My goal this year is to keep everything down to one suitcase, although it is a pretty large suitcase. Except for a few pages of shoes which may end up in a box.