College is a time when you basically get to leave home, most likely for the first time in your life. A common mistake most freshmen make is to bring too much crap with them. They literally load up an entire truck (sometimes a U-Haul) and take way more stuff than they need. The result is that money gets wasted and you have an entire dorm full of shit that you're not going to use or if you're like me, will probably be too damn lazy to use. On a side note, it makes moving in and moving out a really big pain in the ass, especially if you live on any other floor other than the first. Trust me, there is nothing worse than carrying shit up and down the stairs multiple times, especially when it takes upwards of an hour. Also, you can buy most of your necessities as you go along and as needed if there's a Target or WalMart nearby, which there probably is.
Now, that begs the question of what to bring/buy. I'm going to cover the topic of what to bring, first of all. These are the bare necessities. My first recommendation is to bring clothes. Unless you are some kind of nudist, it is generally frowned upon to not wear a shirt or pants of any kind. Next up is toiletries. Bring some soap, shampoo and stuff to brush your teeth with. Even though I'm still single, not showering or brushing your teeth will drives girls (or guys) or just people in general away from you and you probably will have considerable difficulty making friends. You also might want to bring a set of bed sheets, a computer, and school supplies like a pen and a notebook. Yeah, go old school with those school supplies. Also, if you know how to ride one, bring a bike. I literally learned around the end of February 2011 (I was 20 at the time) so it's never too late. A bike makes getting around really convenient and on a plus side, you get to go green by saving gas AND money. Hit two birds with one stone, kids.
Now, what are some other things you might want to bring that do not fall under the category of bare necessities? An iPod for one. Walking around or just going around plugged in makes personally makes me feel a lot less awkward, especially when there are cute girls around. Also, nothing screams "badass" louder than listening to your favorite music on the way to class. It's like walking in to the Octagon at a Mixed Martial Arts event except it's only in your head and only you can hear it. On a side note, an iPod that can take notes, like an iPod Touch, makes a really handy little gadget. Seriously, you can take notes with it and you can check the internet with it, a handy tool to have in class. If you can take notes on like an iPod or an iPad, you will save money on a spiral, which you can now spend on something like more junk food. Yeah, that stuff is ok since you only live once. Oh yeah, having some kind of game console like an Xbox or Playstation makes for good study breaks and will help you make friends more easily. Seriously, I made some of my best friends thanks to Call of Duty: Black Ops sessions.
Weapons. College is a time when you might be by yourself a lot of the time and if that's the case, you will need some kind of self-defense gadget. Of course you'll be on campus a lot so guns are a big no-no unless you WANT to go to jail and/or get expelled. I suggest pepper spray since it's kind of instantaneous as far as effects go. Blades are also good. They are handy for cutting things and if need be, bad people. Legal ramifications still apply of course. For example, I'm in Texas so a legal knife would be anything that isn't a switchblade or dagger (double-edged knife) with a blade 5.5 inches or less. You'll definitely want to follow laws and not my bad example like the time I got caught with a Nepalese Kukri in my dorm freshman year (I'll save that for another post). Honestly though, if someone messes with you fully expecting to comply and you pull a 4-inch knife with a blade designed to punch through body armor out in response, they will probably back down and decide you are not worth getting cut over. Also, if you have time (and money), take martial arts classes.
Thank you for reading if you made it this far and stay tuned for Step 3 coming out sometime next week.
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