When moving into your first dorm you want to be ready for everything, and you want it to feel like home, but you also want a fresh start and you are right to feel that way, but before you pack your bags into your mini-van, let's edit what you've deemed a necessity. College dorm life is something no one is ever perfectly prepared for, and because of that we all over pack and over prepare, but there are some things that you just need to leave back home. Some of the things you should leave behind include:
You do not need your entire wardrobe. It's not like you are never going home again, take what you need to finish out the warm summer weather, shorts, and sandals, but don't forget that winter is coming. You don't have to pack your parka and snowshoes just yet but make sure you have some things in the sweater and pant families. Once the weather really starts changing you can head home and switch out your favorite sandals for your warmest pair of fuzzy socks. It's all about being realistic about what you're actually going to wear plus what you have room to store plus how much you're willing to bring back. The point is: don't get crazy when packing, you can always go back home for more.
Keep your supplies list simple and don't spend too much before you get your syllabus. Be smart about your preparedness, grab a journal for each of your classes, a pack of pencils, some pens, you know the basics. If you're feeling fancy, add in a stapler and a printer if you know you're not going to have free access to one anywhere else. If you need something specific for a class it will say so in the syllabus, and I know this will go against your better nature to be uber prepared for everything but a lot of the time your over-preparation is just a waste of money and desk space.
Your expectations can also stay back in your hometown. College will be next to nothing like you thought it would be so go ahead and forget all of your predispositions about secondary education. It's also good to keep an open mind when heading into college because a clean slate allows you to have the most genuine experience. Make up your own mind about school, don't let what others have told you and what movies have shown you create up your opinion. Keep it fresh.
Your drama can stay in high school. Once you start college you are going to realize that nobody is paying thousands of dollars to hear your petty gossip. If you had an affinity for the dramatic in high school, it's best if you just leave that in high school. College is the first dip into adulthood and if everyone wanted to hear who is sleeping with who or who is talking behind whose back they would have never left home. What it boils down to is learn not to care about other people's lives because yours will be stressful enough.
Your entire bedroom doesn't need to follow you to school. Grab your favorite stuffed animal, maybe some things to hang on the walls, a few family pictures but be selective about what you bring because you don't need it all. Sometimes you go a little crazy trying to make your new room feel like home but it's not home, you're just staying there. Sure! make it comfortable you'll be there for 9ish months, but remember everything you bring, you're going to have to take back. If you bring it all with you, when you go home for the weekend and your room was gutted to go to with you to school, your actual room will not feel like home.
Your bad work habits should really just die before you start freshman year. College is not very forgiving when it comes to procrastination and failure, it will leave you in the dust. You could probably get away with that in high school but you are paying too much money to wait until the night before a test to study and fail it. Just take it from me you are screwing yourself if you don't make an effort to be productive on time.
One thing to try to leave behind is your dependence. If you can wean yourself off of your parents as much as you can college will be more educational than ever. This is the perfect time for you to test out complete independence. You don't have bills but you live on your own, you are in charge of shopping for yourself and keeping everything clean. The less you depend on mom and dad, the more you learn to depend on yourself. Give that a shot.
Those are some of the things I think you should leave at home. College is a really intense learning experience so try your hardest to make it as easy as possible and take everything in. Good luck, and have fun.
