Moving Woes---When are We Inventing Robots for This?

                I can pack up my room on command! I got an email saying that my summer housing was ready one night and two hours later, all my stuff was in suitcases or boxes. The next day, I was all moved into my new room. The moving from one dorm to another did take about five hours, but in the span of twenty-four hours; I had transformed a room that I had lived in for about six months into another ordinary room waiting for its next student.

            If I have become good at anything in college, it definitely has to do with packing and unpacking. Before moving to our home where we've been for ten years, my family and I had moved only a couple times. With college, I have found myself on the move. In two years, I have lived in five different dorms, each time having to put everything together to only take it apart later.     

            In the beginning, I hesitated with putting up posters and other personal items showing that I lived there. Now, one of the first things I do is put these things up to make my new room more comfortable. It’s become very important that I feel at home in my home away from home.

I've also learned to be very organized with my packing because it makes unpacking much easier. For example, clothes that belong in the dresser go in a different suitcase than clothes that belong in the closet, just because it’s better in the long run.

Despite the improvements I've made in this moving process, I still detest moving. Just when I get comfortable in my room and forget that college students are migrants, it’s my turn to move again and I have to figure out what to do with my stuff. In a way, I've been spoiled by my parents. We've been blessed to live in the same place for years and never have to worry about packing up our stuff and moving to a new home. I've also been blessed and haven’t gotten displaced from my home involuntarily due to reasons beyond my control. There are people in this world who get less time to pack up their belongings and move away from places they call home.