From Getting There With Love – [Study Ablog]

Today’s post is written by Dan Grover, a junior in the UHP about to embark to study abroad in the United Kingdom!

Greetings fellows from the UHP! I’m writing today from the exotic locale of Maine! It’s hardly a foreign country (although, hey, maybe you might consider it so), but today’s post isn’t so much about my voyages to the wonderful, exciting United Kingdom. That will come later, once I’ve actually arrived. Today’s post is instead about something just as terrifying and difficult: packing.
Gearing up to go abroad isn’t like anything else I’ve ever done. Sure, packing to go to college is hard, and in a lot of ways getting ready to go abroad is kinda like that, except for a few huge differences. When packing for college, it’s easy to throw everything but the kitchen sink into a car and shove off. When going abroad, one has to be economical. Do I need these pots? Not if I was planning on making it past the weight limit. What about towels? Sheets? Should I get them there? Do I bring snacks? They don’t have peanut butter in Europe, do they? The answer is vacuum sealing bags. Seriously. You can pack anything that way.

Being plagued by these questions is normal, and really a little bit of a distraction from the terror and excitement of having to leave everything that I’ve ever known. Focusing on packing, repacking, and rolling all of my T-shirts into tiny little balls so I can fit a few more keeps my mind off worrying about finding where I’m going, making friends, and how my mother seems like she’s about to cry every time she looks at me. I’ve embraced packing. We are one, a solid cathartic unity in keeping my mind away from the uneasiness about the future. With my two rolling suitcases, the world is my oyster! Next stop, London.