Freshman Move-in Day
Remember when you first went off to college? Remember seeing your cramped low-lit dorm room for the first time? Remember how it was like summer camp with orientation activities for the first week? I sure do. And I was reminded of it today. I had a day off today and list of errands to run that took up an entire piece of legal size paper. I managed to accomplish everything in my power to accomplish with not a whole lot of delays or problems. But I am going back to school too. I'm going to be taking a class at W&M this fall to see if the Education school would work for me. And in registering for this class and doing my errands today I came across freshman and their families in many different situations.
1) Wal-mart - the obvious one-stop shopping place for back-to-school. I got there at about 11:30 which was before freshman move-in was really over and so I feel as though the big rush hadn't set in yet. So many desks, lamps, laundry hampers, large bottled water packages, TVs, mops, vacuum cleaners, everything you didn't know you needed until you actually got to the room, was being purchased. I just remember that first day so well. My roomate Rebecca pretty much had it all. She was always so prepared for everything. I was just thinking, I need clothes, some sheets, a computer, and I'm good. Rebecca brought the mini-fridge, the TV, the videos, the snack food, the extra shelving, the fun decorative items for the room. Everything she brought when I was it was thinking, MAN I'm glad she thought of that.
2) Target - akin to wal-mart but more for the fun decorative room items. Target has made a substantial impact on the college market by selling a wide array of funky lamps, furniture, sheets and other dorm items with a very youthful esthetic. Something you feel like you can really make your own because you don't live with your parents anymore. Even though they're paying for your individuality.
3) Parking Services - the long line of forlorn students forking over a ton of money to pay for coveted asphalt real estate. I remember hating getting the bad parking spots on campus because I ALWAYS had a lot of stuff to tote to or from my car. I felt like the exorbitant amount of money they ask for that privledge should guarantee a space within 100 yards of my residence. Such is life in Williamsburg.
4) The bookstore - Panicked students who couldn't find all their books, some sections were out of certain books, what will I DO if I don't have all my books before the first day of classes? That was definitely me. I FREAKED out when I left the bookstore thinking I had all my books and then on my first day of class there was an assigment from a book I definitely did not have and had not seen. Turns out the bookstores organization has improved since 2001 but when I was a freshman they had the classes sort of grouped together, not really, and they were on different levels, so you might have thought you had all the books but there may have been some on a different shelf, or you may have bought the wrong section's books, or you may have bought the wrong class accidentally. They've thought of ways to get past that now. I also saw a lot of parents proudly purchasing W&M apparel. Draping themselves in gold and green and walking out with boatloads of paraphernalia for relatives and siblings.
I really enjoyed kind of reliving move-in day today, but, as always, am glad it wasn't me. I just remember how life defining I thought it was and how when I had to pick my classes I felt like I was choosing a career and how ADULT everything felt. Oh what fun. Now actually being an adult has lost that golden glow. But I think I prefer the reality of the adult world, just not the cost.
Sidenote: E! news just told me that Denim leggings are in?? This just goes to show that no one should EVER throw anything away because it will always come back in style. and that goes for movie scripts, books, CDs/tapes/8tracks/records, and other pop culture items. Because if you hang on to something long enough, it will become cool or original again.
1) Wal-mart - the obvious one-stop shopping place for back-to-school. I got there at about 11:30 which was before freshman move-in was really over and so I feel as though the big rush hadn't set in yet. So many desks, lamps, laundry hampers, large bottled water packages, TVs, mops, vacuum cleaners, everything you didn't know you needed until you actually got to the room, was being purchased. I just remember that first day so well. My roomate Rebecca pretty much had it all. She was always so prepared for everything. I was just thinking, I need clothes, some sheets, a computer, and I'm good. Rebecca brought the mini-fridge, the TV, the videos, the snack food, the extra shelving, the fun decorative items for the room. Everything she brought when I was it was thinking, MAN I'm glad she thought of that.
2) Target - akin to wal-mart but more for the fun decorative room items. Target has made a substantial impact on the college market by selling a wide array of funky lamps, furniture, sheets and other dorm items with a very youthful esthetic. Something you feel like you can really make your own because you don't live with your parents anymore. Even though they're paying for your individuality.
3) Parking Services - the long line of forlorn students forking over a ton of money to pay for coveted asphalt real estate. I remember hating getting the bad parking spots on campus because I ALWAYS had a lot of stuff to tote to or from my car. I felt like the exorbitant amount of money they ask for that privledge should guarantee a space within 100 yards of my residence. Such is life in Williamsburg.
4) The bookstore - Panicked students who couldn't find all their books, some sections were out of certain books, what will I DO if I don't have all my books before the first day of classes? That was definitely me. I FREAKED out when I left the bookstore thinking I had all my books and then on my first day of class there was an assigment from a book I definitely did not have and had not seen. Turns out the bookstores organization has improved since 2001 but when I was a freshman they had the classes sort of grouped together, not really, and they were on different levels, so you might have thought you had all the books but there may have been some on a different shelf, or you may have bought the wrong section's books, or you may have bought the wrong class accidentally. They've thought of ways to get past that now. I also saw a lot of parents proudly purchasing W&M apparel. Draping themselves in gold and green and walking out with boatloads of paraphernalia for relatives and siblings.
I really enjoyed kind of reliving move-in day today, but, as always, am glad it wasn't me. I just remember how life defining I thought it was and how when I had to pick my classes I felt like I was choosing a career and how ADULT everything felt. Oh what fun. Now actually being an adult has lost that golden glow. But I think I prefer the reality of the adult world, just not the cost.
Sidenote: E! news just told me that Denim leggings are in?? This just goes to show that no one should EVER throw anything away because it will always come back in style. and that goes for movie scripts, books, CDs/tapes/8tracks/records, and other pop culture items. Because if you hang on to something long enough, it will become cool or original again.
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