Home for the Holidays!!!

December is always a fun month. How could it not be, with Christmas approaching? Family, friends, food, fun (the 4Fs), holidays and presents…. The list goes on and on. But, of course, with the 4 nice Fs, comes the one nasty one…FINALS.

Finals are no fun. Who wants to stay up late at night studying algorithms or memorizing the Greek alphabet? (Fun fact, I don’t have to do either of those things, but they sound like the most terrible things to have on an exam, so that’s why I mentioned them).

But in order to have holidays, we have to suffer through exam week first…and that is a sad essential in our university lives.

Seeing as holidays are much much much more fun to think about than finals, I chose to write today’s blog post about packing for the holidays instead of discussing finals. I mean…everyone needs some assistance when you’re planning on going home, whether its five minutes away by car or 48 hours away by plane (that’s how far my home is, but I’m not going back to Malaysia this Christmas).

One of the problems about packing is the fact that the majority of us are not going to be back in Iowa for a month. Not only must we pack everything we need, but we also need to make sure that our belongings left behind are not covered in dust when we return! (Ewwww….)

Now I recognize that packing lists change for everyone, especially being different for long-distance travellers as opposed to short-distance ones. Also, if you’re going to stay with your parents, you probably already have a toothbrush at home that you can use as opposed to staying with family friends, where you would probably have to bring your own toothbrush or buy a new one. So this packing list won’t be applicable to everyone, but I think everyone knows that they have to bring clothes. (Lame, I know, sorry…it sounds more funny out loud, I promise…).

Emily’s Packing List for Christmas Break 2018

1. Clothes. (Duh!)
   But pick clothes based on the location that you’re going to. So if you’re going to sunny Malaysia or something, bring shorts and T-shirts. Bring one pair of winter clothes for coming back, but pack based on the weather that you’re going into!If you’re going home, you probably don’t need that many clothes. So just bring along your favourites. But if you’re going some place else on vacation, then you should pack more. It also depends on laundry. If you have a chance to do laundry, great! You can pack less. Also remember that you want to bring stuff back, which means that you should leave some space in your luggage for those Christmas presents and souvenirs….
2. Makeup and jewellery. (For girls, mostly!)
   Okay, so we’re going into the Christmas season! Tons of parties, hangouts, celebrations etc. Everyone wants to look their best! Pick your favourites and go from there. Remember, you don’t want to make your bag too heavy, so be sparse with your choices.
3. Books
   Not everyone is an avid a reader as I am, so books may not be placed in a very high priority on your list. But my book list isn’t only my fun-reading novels, but also schoolbooks for next semester. (Now I just sound like a nerd. I’m not! Honest!). You might want to get a head-start on all those readings. But then again, if you aren’t sure whether your professor really wants you to use all those books, maybe you should refrain from ordering them too early. Your choice…
4. Hobby Stuff
   Everyone has different hobbies and passions. For me, because I’ll be taking dance classes at a ballet studio near my aunt’s house, I had to pack my leotards, tights, dance shoes and hair stuff. For people who want to do sports over break, they should bring their sneakers and sports clothes and so on. You know best for your own activities…I can’t give advice to a football player…I’ve never played football. Soccer yes, football no. (Those different American words are really tripping me up…)
5. Hygiene Stuff
   Again this is dependent on whether or not you’re going home home, but everyone needs their deodorant, perfume, toothbrush and paste, razor etc. Just make sure you have them wherever you’re going and you’re good to go!

Now one of the more frustrating things about leaving was the things I left behind. I’m sure everyone has a whole ton of stuff in their dorm rooms, but because no one is going to be in their dorms for a month, dust collects. Seeing as all our clothes spaces are open-air, I had to put them all in plastic bags to prevent clothes from becoming dusty. I also took down all the clothes that I had hung up, put them on my bed and spread a towel over them. I put as much of my belongings into the drawers in the desk; those that could not fit ended up covered in another towel on my desk.

Piece of advice: buy plastic covers at Target or Walmart.

This blog post seems to be getting longer and longer, but I should really stop here. I’m sure my ramblings are not exactly what you are interested on reading when Christmas is almost upon us! But for those of you who still have exams, good luck and all the best!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Ho, ho, ho…

Emily