Hey guys! Now that the fall semester is approaching, I know there are a lot of incoming freshmen who are wondering what they will need the most, and stressing about whether or not they’re forgetting to pack something. So, I thought I would share with you guys the top ten not-so-obvious items you should make sure you don’t forget! This is a blog post I copied and pasted from my personal blog, Finding The Good in Everyday Life, because it’s definitely relevant to what this blog is all about!
1. Umbrella. I don’t care if you’re going to school in the Sahara Desert, BRING AN UMBRELLA. Because when it does rain, and it will, you don’t want to be one of those students walking to class soaking wet! Trust me, I was that girl at one point. Also, keep your umbrella with you in your backpack. Because I can’t tell you how many times my friends and I have been completely caught off guard when we walked out of class and into a tsunami!
2. Rain boots. Going along with the umbrella, you’re going to need a good pair of rain boots. I remember last summer when Marisol and I were googling the most important items we needed to bring to college, rain boots was high on the list. She and I looked at each other and laughed, saying “that is so stupid! Why would we need rain boots?!” Well, a few weeks into school, we both found out exactly why we needed rain boots. Most campuses tend to not have a very good drainage system for when it rains. Which means that while you’re walking to class, you could be stepping into a puddle of water that goes halfway up your calve. Trust me, trudging to and from classes with soaking wet shoes, socks, and jeans is absolutely miserable. So, take my advice and pack your rain boots. If you don’t have any, go buy some. Now.
3. Hand soap and toilet paper. If you’re living in a dorm, you may assume you don’t need to buy these items because you’re sharing a restroom, which the custodial staff is supposed to clean and keep fully stocked. WRONG. Evidently, they’re only allowed to give you so much toilet paper, paper towels, and hand soap every month. I can’t count how many times our bathrooms were out of toilet paper and soap– sometimes up to two weeks at a time. So, make sure you go and buy a package of toilet paper and some hand soap in case you need it! It’s always better to have toilet paper you don’t need than to need toilet paper and not have it!
4. Shower shoes. If you’re using community showers, odds are you’re sharing about six showers with more than 50 people. Though the showers get cleaned every morning, with that many people showering, the floors get pretty nasty! So, make sure you bring your flip flops and never shower without them on! And, if you’re worried about having to shower around other people (I know I was terrified!), don’t be. It’s not bad at all. I was never in the shower room with more than two people at a time and as long as you close the curtain to your shower stall, nobody will see you showering! Haha.
5. A Brita water bottle! I can’t even explain to you how many cases of water I went through last year. I drank probably five or six bottles of water a day. And even more than that during the summer because I got so hot while walking to class. So, I was spending too much money on bottles of water. Most people would think, “why didn’t you just refill your water bottles from the sink/fountain?” Well, that’s because the tap water at my school is DISGUSTING. Waco water is never something you should drink if you have the choice. So, just buy a Brita water bottle and you’ll save tons of money! (And you won’t break your back carrying the cases of water from the parking garage to your dorm!)
6. Extra USB cords for your phone. You should probably bring at least three. One for your dorm, one to keep and your backpack, and one as a back up. The libraries have “charging stations” where you can just plug your usb into the wall to charge your phone, so make sure you keep one in your backpack so you can keep your phone charged during an all-night study marathon!
7. An Ethernet cable and, if your computer doesn’t have the proper plug in, an adapter for it. I know it sounds like a given that dorms would have WiFi, right? Well, that’s what I thought, anyways. Come to find out, none of the dorms on campus had WiFi so I went without internet for a good two weeks while I was waiting for my cord and adapter to come in. Even if you know that your dorm does have WiFi, it’s not a bad idea to get it, anyways so that if the WiFi goes down, you can use your Ethernet cable and not miss a beat!
8. Extension cords and a surge protector. Odds are, you’re only going to have two plug-ins on your side of the dorm and they’re usually not where you’re going to need them to be! So, extension cords are a necessity!
9. Headphones! Always keep a pair of headphones in you backpack. They come in handy walking to class, studying in the library, or when you’re trying to tune some obnoxious person sitting behind you out. Trust me on this one– headphones are a must!
10. Medicine! You’re probably going to need to bring DayQuil, NyQuil, and Advil (or whatever brands of these you use). You may be thinking, “I never get sick! I don’t need these!” WRONG. You will get sick. Being around so many different people on a daily basis definitely makes you more susceptible to things like the flu. And, trust me, when you wake up sick, you’re not going to want to go all the way to the bookstore and pay $15 for a small bottle of DayQuil. It’s going to suck enough having to take care of yourself and still go to class when you’re sick. So, just bring them with you when you move in so you’ll have them when you need them. And keep the Advil with you, because on really rough days, you’re going to need it to get rid of your headache so you can study without concentrating on the throbbing in your head. I did, at least!
So, take it from somebody who’s been there and has forgotten nearly all of these things– make sure you pack all of this when you move off to college! I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope it helped!:) Please subscribe by simply entering your e-mail on the right side (or, if you’re on your phone, just scroll down to the subscribe box!).
I also found another great blog post about dorm life and what you should make sure you bring! Check it out at: http://tylerlcalhoun.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/the-truth-about-dorm-life-2/
If you’re in need of a complete packing list, the image below is the ULTIMATE packing list for college! It has everything you will need on it!
-B
Three Best Friends Take On College 