#also a baby quilt and a beanie but those are easy

[tj-crochets]

Okay so I don’t have the fluffy blanket fabric in red for a dragon, but I do have a fluffy red blanket I can use? It’s not quiiiiite as fluffy, but it’s still pretty darn fluffy, and a nice deep red kind of color, and I really want to make baby Smaug So I’m thinking I might make baby Smaug (aka a red and gold dragon) next, but before I get started on it I’ll cut out the fabric for another Bucky Bear so I’m one step closer to finishing another auction fill item

[themigratingdesk]

Surviving Uni, Part One

I’ve been packing my stuff up to move into my apartment for my 3rd year at college this past week, and I’ve definitely learned a lot from moving across the country 4 times in the last 2 years.

Disclaimer: these tips are written with a traditional 4-year American college in mind, assuming you’ll be in a dorm room shared with at least one other person. If that doesn’t fit you, it doesn’t mean you can’t still use some of them, but your mileage may vary. Additionally, I’m assuming trips home or visits from relatives are going to be limited (for me, it meant either 12 hours in a car or paying to fly, so other than emergencies and holidays there weren’t any options to swing home and drop stuff off/get something I forgot).

Tips below the cut!

Before/when you first get there:

if you haven’t toured your campus yet, you might want to look into staying an extra day or two when you visit for orientation so you can better check out both on and off-campus areas. (Or if you’ve already had orientation, check out google maps) Things to look for/make note of might be:

stores (you want to avoid the closest Target on move-in day, since it’ll be packed with all the students and their families getting last-minute essentials. You also want to know where you can get snacks/bandaids/other needs, so try to find a CVS or Walgreens. Take note of how you can get there. Is it walking distance? bus distance? find a friend with a car distance? A lot of this will depend on if your campus is urban/rural/suburban and what public transit options look like--mine is like a small town inside a large city, so there’s a combination of all three here)

pharmacies/clinics (your campus will probably have a student health center but if my experiences are anything to go by, getting a timely appointment is going to be tricky unless it’s urgent. When I’ve been sick I’ve either dealt with it by myself or gone to an off-campus clinic via bus. Usually a CVS minute clinic or similar place will be able to handle most everyday needs and minor illnesses, but if you’re chronically ill you’ll definitely want to research the area. also know where the closest ER is, as I needed it my freshman year and a friend had to be admitted last year)

go through the clothes/things you plan on bringing and get rid of about half of it. Don’t be the person with the closet taking over the whole room. One carload of stuff per person should be enough unless you have a lot of people coming to help move you in. That being said, some essentials are:

2 sets of sheets (for when you have to do laundry)

weather-appropriate clothing (walking to class in the snow in Uggs seems fine until you realize you have no traction and slip. Get real snowboots and a coat/hat. Similarly, if you are going somewhere warm or rainy or w/e, remember that, especially if you are from a different climate zone. layers are key!)

2-3 outfits’ worth of business casual/nicer clothing. More if you have events for Greek life or student orgs. My nice clothes got more use than some of my sweatshirts this year, what with extra orientations, conferences I went to, and travel to competitions with a student org that I hadn’t even heard of before 2nd semester.

a small first-aid kit. I called mine the “injury box” and kept a thermometer, cough meds, bandaids/gloves/neosporin, ace bandages, painkillers, and hand sanitizer. I got good use out of this, and at the very least it’ll give your roommates/floormates a reason to talk to you.

2 water bottles, 2 microwave-safe mugs, dishsoap/washing tool (I like concentrated dawn and scrub daddy because they last forever, work, and don’t get gunky like sponges)

power strip (because dorms won’t have enough plugs or they’ll be in weird places)

space bags for smushing bulky items for travel--especially if you have big sweatshirts/sweaters. try to find the ones that don’t need a vacuum.

dryer sheets and a laundry holder you can carry easily. I started off with a mesh hamper and hated it, so over winter break I switched to a set of 2 plastic baskets, one for shoes and one for clothes, that I could fit under my bed and carry easily.

bleach/disinfecting wipes. grime builds up everywhere, and these will help keep your surfaces (like your desk) clean, which helps you feel more productive

some photos. this can be in a physical album, printed and put on your walls, or on a flashdrive

Things to leave at home:

those shoes you love but that kill your feet

most of your t-shirts (I’m saving mine to be made into a quilt after I go to grad school, so i’ll have high school and uni memories but less clutter

a printer (unless you talk your roommate into bringing one, haha). you can print at the library for pretty cheap at most places

kitchen tools (unless you have an apartment style layout in your dorm, you won’t use the communal kitchen as much as you think)

storage items like those plastic drawers or desk organizers. It’s so easy to go overboard with this stuff only to realize that it doesn’t actually fit your space or your study methods. Some stuff like pen cups and bookends should be okay, but don’t get anything for your closet or any drawers until you’ve actually seen your space and figured out how your stuff fits into it

most of your t shirts/sweatshirts (one week my sophomore year I got 3 free t-shirts, 2 water bottles, reusable utensils for eating out, a book, 2 reusable bags, a beanie, and a pair of earrings just for participating in campus events. this is by no means a typical week, but there’s a lot more free stuff than you’re expecting)

any substances you can’t legally have with you. I helped move people in. Some people were very dumb about this. Within 15 minutes of being on campus their RA had to write them up and they had an immediate reputation. (personally, idfc what you do/don’t do, just be safe and don’t be dumb about it)

Talk to your roommate(s), the people next door to you, your RA, etc. You don’t have to make friends right away, but it is good to know who has duct tape, who always makes way more vegan brownies than they can eat, who likes to go to karaoke thursdays, and who you can trust to water your plants/feed your fish when you’re away for the weekend. Bringing a deck of cards can help here.

Set boundaries. There’s lots of roommate contracts available online, and your RA might even make you do one your first year. My roommate always went to bed 2 hours before I did, so we set some guides: if I was going to stay up working on homework, I could do it with just my desk lamp or I could head to the study lounge. If she had her long-distance bf visit, she’d warn me the weekend before, that sort of thing. We also made a chore rotation for the suite, which wasn’t always followed but did mean that at least once a month the toilet, counters, carpet, and mirrors all got cleaned.

Get prepared. The first week goes by really quickly. Take a day or two to get settled into your new space, go to some club meetings, find a cute cafe off-campus, etc., but also start getting yourself into the habit of regular study times and staying on top of things. I know a lot of people who struggled because they couldn’t make their methods from high school work in college and instead of doubling down they just gave up. Beat that by starting out ahead. 

GOOD LUCK to all my baby college kids, and keep on trucking to all my returning students. It’s crazy to think that I’m already halfway through!

If you have any questions about my specific experiences/clubs/classes etc, message me.

Part Two

My Printables

Study Tips

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