Everyone's seen the movies; the parents drop of their kid at the front of their new school with their two suitcases, kisses them on the cheek, and tells them to have a good semester. The kid waves them off and then immediately goes to their room, unpacks their stuff, and goes to explore the campus. As much as freshman may wish this is true, it's just not, and here are the biggest differences that I've noted.
1. Your parents.
First off, your parents don't just leave you in front of the school. They'll help you drag all your crap to your room, and help you unpack as much as you'll let them. Then you'll probably end up sharing one last meal together before having a tearful goodbye.
2. Everything you own is going to fit in two suitcases.
While it's probably your best bet to pack as lightly as possible (not all dorms are spacious), I can pretty much guarantee you it'll take you at least six boxes. Don't believe me? Between just clothes, bedding, and bathroom stuff you'll probably have about five boxes. This doesn't include all your desk supplies, mini fridge, and microwave.
3. You find your room, unpack, and then go exploring.
Chances are once you finally get the keys to your room, find your room, and then start hauling the boxes up to your room, an hour will have already passed. Then you actually have to unpack (which is no small feat in a room the size of a closet), find places for all your stuff to go, throw out your boxes, and then probably go out to dinner with your parents. Trust me when I say move-in takes all day, and by the end of it all you want to do is crawl into your bed. Sadly, you'll probably have a hall meeting.
4. You'll have problems navigating your new dorm.
Now with this I don't mean finding your way around, I mean actually navigating through people to get all of your crap up to your room. My freshman move in day came with 350 students, all with their parents, trying to move in. My dorm is three stories and only has two elevators, and I lived on the second floor (that was a fun one to figure out). It took us no less than two hours to get all my boxes up to my room, just because of the crowds. Most kids bring both of their parents (some even bring siblings), so for that one day we were fighting through a crow of 1,000 people attempting to get my stuff up to my room. And I know what you're saying right now: "My school has people move in during different times throughout the day so it won't be that hectic," but time staggering doesn't work. People take however long they take to actually get to the school itself, and then move in. So don't get your hopes up.
5. Things will be all rainbows and butterflies between you and your parents throughout the day.
It's move-in day and your parents are loosing a child, so of course they'll love on you and be so happy. Not so fast. As mentioned before move in day is CROWDED, and the rooms are TINY. Chances are your hall will probably start blasting air conditioning the day before getting ready for all the hot bodies in a small space, but it won't matter. You will get hot and sweaty and frustrated, and so will your parents. And that frustration will probably come out one at other. Granted, by the end you'll miss them and they'll miss you, but during the actual day you'll probably become tired of each other very quickly.
