A Year of Memories_Move-In Day

On August 15 at 9 am. My parents and I were sitting in our car packed with boxes, clothes and endless plastic bags. We were stalling in the parking lot waiting for the “okay” to start unloading. Once the “okay” came, we started taking all of my belongings to the 2^nd Bryan, my new “home”. I moved into a tiny room with two other girls, Annie and Grace. When I first saw them in the midst of all the bags and paper towels, I never even fathomed how close we would become, and how important they would become to me. For now, we were focused on finding a place for all of our belongings and making everything fit. After my parents helped me hang my clothes and build the last bookshelf, it was time for them to leave.

I had planned that I wouldn’t cry, since it would be like summer camp. I would see them in 3 weeks when I went home, and I could video chat with them whenever I wanted to. But when I walked them to the elevator and gave the final hugs, something felt weird inside. I was actually moving out of the house now. Even though I would go back for breaks, this new place would now be my “home” for the next year. Whether it was that feeling, or tears in my mom’s eyes, I felt a bubble growing in my throat so I decided to leave as quickly as possible. A quick hug for my mom, and an encouraging pat on the back from my dad, and they left.

After my parents went down the elevator, there were a few tears, but I remembered that I had to walk into a room, my room, with two other girls in it and I had to act mature. I had to prove to them, and myself, that I could handle moving out. And after all, the next few weeks would be full of first impressions and I was determined to make good ones.