Accepting Change

College move in day: what all of us freshmen have been waiting for for the past six months. With the prevailing circumstances of the coronavirus, I had lost all hope about moving onto campus throughout the 2021 school year. When the University of Delaware began emailing students about move in schedules, room assignments, and COVID-19 precautions, I got a glimpse of hope that we were going to be on campus. My mom and I rushed off to target the following day to start gathering all the supplies. I also started getting my clothes, shoes, toiletries, and all the dorm room necessities together.

The day prior to moving in finally arrived, and I was overrun by anxiety and excitement. As I packed up my final boxes, I realized how this moment was finally real. I was double checking and triple checking my list hoping I could somehow remember everything, which of course I did not. I was saddened to notice that I left my favorite pillow at home. That day went by and my parents and I worked vigorously at night to pack the two cars in preparation for the 8:30 AM move in time. I then spent hours running through every situation that could possibly go wrong the following day. After being overrun by anxiety, I was finally able to fall asleep.

6:30 AM Friday February 12 had finally arrived. The blaring ring of my alarm clock pulled me immediately out of bed. I ran through my packing lists one last time and then quickly hopped in the shower. I needed to soak in the decent water pressure. I got out of the shower, got ready for the day, and said goodbye to my older sister, Sydney, and my five month old puppy, Lexi. I held back the tears as my parents and I bounded into the car and got on our way. Next stop: the University of Delaware.

When we first arrived at my dorm building, I, of course, entered through the wrong door. I walked up to the third floor of the building and noticed that my assigned room was indeed a custodial closet. I shouted down to my dad, who was lugging the large TV with him, “they messed up my room assignment.” I immediately started crying thinking. I quickly gathered myself and realized I had entered through the conjoining building instead of my dorm. After what felt like forever, I found my room and noticed I did have a place to live!

I soon registered that living on the third floor was going to cause problems for my dad and I, who had to drag the heavy fridge up the two grueling flights of steps. After many trips up and down, we finally had all the items in my room. The next two hours of unpacking were quite possibly the two most chaotic hours of my life. Those two hours passed by in the blink of an eye. I said goodbye to my parents and started reflecting on this moment.

I noticed how important it is to experience change and new environments especially in the current circumstances we are living through. Change is terrifying, but change is necessary for growth.