I remember the day I moved to college. Packing my bedroom into a two-door Ford Probe was one of my biggest challenges. No matter how much I pushed, pulled and rearranged, everything wasn't going to fit. And there were some things I just wasn't quite ready to leave behind.
As I took one last glance at my room, with its pink carpet and light pink walls, memories brought tears to my eyes. My closet was strewn with Cabbage Patch and Barbie dolls, letters from friends dating back to the sixth grade and many other mementos I just couldn't bear to part with. Then there was my bed. I never thought I could get so attached to something I slept in. But it was more than that. It was where my childhood dreams began to take shape. It was where I cried after fighting with my best friend, after breaking up with my first love, and after losing my grandmother. And now it was time to leave it all behind.
Those memories were still fresh two hours later when I arrived at my new home—a large brick dormitory that housed over 300 girls. The cinder block walls and brown tile floor didn't do much to brighten my spirits that day. But my roommates and I made a fun project out of transforming our drab room. We bought posters, contact paper and plants. We put a piece of carpet on the floor and pictures on the walls. When we were done, we had turned the horrid little room into our home. Granted, the contact paper peeled from the walls, and our beautiful plant died halfway through the semester, but the important thing was we had fun, and got to know each other better along the way.
It's hard to leave the comfort and security of home, but a whole new world awaits you at college. Letting go is never easy, but building off your memories and creating new ones only helps you grow. So live it up. And check out all the great advice about college in this issue, especially "Welcome to College". And, if you long for the comforts of home, don't worry, college will give you plenty of opportunities to revisit your memories—even if it means doing something crazy—like putting pink carpet in your room!
Autumn & your friends at Campus Life Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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