One of the amazing things about college is that you get to be surrounded by people who are (more or less) just like you. Recently, I discovered a particular characteristic that shaped my generations’ lives: our childhood experiences. But I’ve realized during the past two years of my college journey is that those experiences and what they influenced never truly went away as we grew up, they just began to manifest themselves in different ways. While my roommates and I unpacked our things for our new place this semester, I came across a few items that we cherished and directly tied to experiences from our childhoods. I began to notice the same thing amongst some of my other friends. Check out the list below to see if any of these items are also part of your childhood manifestations at college!
1. Graphic T-Shirts
In recent years, graphic t-shirts have become quite the fashion statement; my roommates and I definitely followed suit with working the trend on campus. However, my collection of Harley Davidson shirts got them asking about it, especially when they knew that I had no real interest in motorcycles. This led to me telling them how my aunt worked there for years and the brand had become symbolic of her and the fun times we had. So next time you need an icebreaker, start by checking out what someone else is wearing, because there might be a story behind that unique t-shirt!
2. Blankets
The first night at our place, my roommates and I cozied up on our couch to watch TV, wrapped in each of our own blankets. We soon came to realize that each of our blankets had a story behind them that stemmed from our playful childhood days. My roommate’s Cubs fleece blanket got her talking about how she’s been a loyal fan since she was little, and my hot pink cheetah print fleece blanket revealed how much of a Cheetah Girls fan I was back in the day. No matter the type, there is always a story behind that one blanket you couldn’t leave home without!
3. Stuffed Animals
I have yet to meet someone that didn’t have or still has a stuffed animal from his or her childhood. Those soft, fluffy objects meant so much to us growing up and having them around can take you back to all those fun moments. Whether it’s like my roommate’s small stuffed monkey (who she still calls Momo), my friend’s SpongeBob pillow, or my giraffe pillow pet (they’re still my favorite zoo animal!), everyone has something to say about their old, worn stuffed animal!
4. Movies
To this day, I am still proudly claiming my title of a Disney kid. While I unpacked a few of my recent favorite Disney movies (Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen), my roommates unpacked various action, horror, and comedic films. Besides the fact that we now have quite the collection of movies to choose from when its girl’s night, we were able to learn more about one another and able to make sense of why we enjoy these different genres so much now. Let’s just say they now blame Disney for why I am always singing everything!
5. Meals
Nothing like a little mac & cheese to get us feeling like we are back at home! When we all unpacked a box of the childhood favorite, we couldn’t help but laugh at the reality that no matter where we are or hold old we get, this magical cheesy meal was going to come with us (and in the shapes of SpongeBob SquarePants characters nonetheless)!
6. Calendars
Like any other organized student, each of us also brought our own calendar. When we compared them, however, we came across this same theme of childhood connections. As a die-hard Beyoncé fan (#beyhive), my calendar is full of pictures of the queen, whereas one of my roommates has one that is full of different kinds of kittens. Either way, this item told us something about the other that goes way back (whereas I was dancing to lyrics I didn’t understand, my roommate was obsessing over kittens she owned)!
7. Slippers
Although it isn’t a key house component, slippers were something I noticed all of my friends had a story about. My slippers covered in red sequins, taking me back to my days of obsessing over the Wizard of Oz (and those ruby slippers). My friend’s slippers have panda faces on them, a holdover from her childhood days of wishing she could have one as a pet! Who would’ve thought such a random household item could hold so much deeper meaning and be so cute at the same time?
Be sure to leave comments below about where you see remnants of your childhood shine through and how it’s affected your experiences with others!