If you’re getting ready to head off to college, I can tell you that it’s going to be an exciting journey! However, with college comes dorming, and dorming can be a stressful process.
Since I live pretty close to my school, I didn’t have to bring my whole wardrobe with me, so moving in wasn’t as hectic as it was for some other people. You don’t have to bring absolutely everything with you to college, whether you are local or not. An important thing to consider is your roommates, who you will be sharing some things with. I recommend getting in touch with them early and getting to know them so you can make friends before actually getting to college and to talk about who will contribute what to your room! For example, I brought an iron and ironing board while my other roommates brought bathroom supplies and a vacuum for all of us to use.
When it comes to roommates, I also highly recommend setting rules and guidelines for everyone, if your school doesn’t already have a separate activity for that. For me, my college has everyone set up an agreement with their roommates on how clean they would like their room, the noise level, and a lot of other things to be respectful of each other. This really helps limit the amount of conflicts that might arise among you and your roommates, as having horrible roommates can definitely have a negative impact on your college experience.
You might become best friends with your roomies, or you may not, and either outcome is absolutely fine. Don’t feel pressured to hang out with your roommates all the time, but also don’t feel like you won’t be able to make friends if you’re not close with them. My roommates and I lived well together but weren’t super close, so I made a lot of friends in my dorm and in classes! College might seem daunting, but everyone is new here and trust me, they all want to get to know you as much as you want to get to know them. For me, college was much less stressful than high school, and I hope it’s the same way for you!