10 Things You Realize When You Move Post-College

1. You have to actually take the bed with you this time, and hot damn, is that thing big. I mean, did I really need a queen-sized bed? Duh. Freaking duh, I did. But now I have to figure out how to pick it up.

2. Your 2003 Honda Accord does not, in fact, come equipped with a hitch, which is apparently a key component to towing a trailer, which is, in turn, a key component to moving.

3. The people you leave behind, you might not see again in 2 1/2 months. Or, ever. This goes for the places, too. The coffee shop you took refuge in on Saturday mornings and the dive bar you spent epic weekends at — you can’t fit those things in your trunk or take them with you. You won’t be able to make up for the happy hours you missed or the “could-be” friendships and romances left hanging. With some people, you will be perfectly okay with this notion. Even so, it will still be a difficult concept to swallow, in general. Because this time, after summer ends and when September comes, it will just be fall. This time, there is no next semester.

4. You are using one of your limited vacation days to fold clothes, drive a few hundred miles and continually lug trash out to the curb. Damn you, real world. Damn you.

5. Cardboard boxes, packing tape and a trolley are GOLDEN.

6. Friends and family are also golden. Especially those who help you move or offer to. You will be sad for the ones you are leaving and grateful for the ones you are reuniting with. And if you are moving far, far away, you will be wistful for them all.

7. While driving away, specific songs on the radio will suddenly take on a whole new and very personal meaning. “Where are you going? / Where do you go?” I don’t know, yet, Dave. I just got onto 95N and I’m going to stay at my parent’s house for a little while, save some money, and try to figure this all out. New York is in the cards but it really depends on where work puts me and hey, I’m in my twenties and single so maybe I’ll just say “screw it” and peace out to Spain on a one-way flight. I could cha-cha my way around until I fall in love with a strikingly handsome man named Ricardo or Manuel, just like in the movies, right? Either way, I’ll status you as soon as I know. Is that okay? Jeez, Dave, just get off my case!

8. That being said, you will grasp the concept of feeling anxious, eager, exhilarated and terrified all at once.

9. You will realize that you are, indeed, growing up and you aren’t quite sure how you feel about it. You’re still not the “grown-up” you envisioned all adults were as a kid. Similarly, you now fully understand that not all those adults you envisioned were actually ever “grown up” to begin with. Some people plateau around the age you are at now. Some people will be the 89 year-old who remains young at heart but forever wise in soul. You want to be the latter. You want to try new things and meet new people and never stop growing. Maybe moving can serve as a medium for that…and you know what?

10. Maybe that place wasn’t so bad, after all.

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