This article has been syndicated to Her Campus from Dear Ash, an InfluenceHer Collective member. Read the full post here.
As caps and gowns are becoming more prevalent, graduation parties are filling up our schedules, and times with the people you grew up with are being cherished, a big season is waiting ahead. You have probably heard time and time again, “Are you ready for your first year of college?” Your mom is probably going insane making a list of every single item you need. Your first year of college is approaching, and you just don’t know what to expect.
If you’re like me, and you’re the oldest sibling to trudge off to college, things can be difficult. I had to learn in my first year of college what I needed and what I truly didn’t need. It was all kind of a mystery. But friends, I don’t want you to be nervous about this transition, and I want you to be prepared. And being prepared means crossing off things from our packing lists that in fact, aren’t really needed.
Without further ado, here are the ten things you should not bring to your first year of college.
1. Your entire wardrobe
Yes, you might be deemed as a “fashionista.” You might even love clothes (and sister, I can relate with you on this one). But coming from personal experience, I brought almost every clothing item I had in my closet, and some never even saw the light of day. In college, people do not wear dresses or skirts, and truth be told at 8:30 in the morning after no sleep you probably won’t even be in the mood to wear one either.
Focus on bringing seasonal clothes, and if you’re going to go overboard, do it with shirts and jeans. Don’t even try to prepare for fancy looks, because college is not fancy by any means. So save yourself and the limited closet space for clothes you actually will wear.
2. Your entire shoe collection
This goes hand and hand with number one. Once again, bring seasonal shoes. In the fall, I brought booties and boots. However, my issue was I brought every pair. There were some boots that I only wore once or twice, and the rest were just taking up space. Yes, you might find comfort seeing all your prized possessions everyday, but they are doing no good just collecting dust. Plus, in college you do a lot of walking, so bringing shoes with big heels or uncomfortable soles is not the best idea.
3. A laptop tray
Before going to college, I thought I absolutely needed this. On my Target trip (which all of you will eventually make your way to this saving grace in the course of your packing expedition), I was certain I needed to buy a laptop tray. It was in all the college lists on Pinterest, so I felt it was a necessity. I imagined myself in my dorm at night with it plopped right on my bed, relaxing, and enjoying a nice cup of coffee in its handy dandy drink holder. But truth is, I only used this puppy once. And my roommate didn’t even take hers out of the Target box.
In the one time I used my laptop tray, I was sick and it was within the first couple of weeks of college, which is a prime adjustment period. It was one of those really bad days already, and I thought taking this thing out would make everything better. So I got all cuddled up, and I took it out like I imagined I would be doing when I bought it, only to find that the lever needed to be adjusted. So I raised the laptop tray above my head to fix it to my liking, and low and behold the tray’s surface smacked me right in the head. You can now guess why I never took it out again.
Read the full post here.