Packing

Growing up, I was definitely an overpacker. Thinking back to show choir trips in high school, I definitely brought way too much stuff. Sometimes it was too much clothes, but often times it was too many oddball items, like books or card games or whatever. I think I thought back to other times when a group of us would be bored and would think "it'd be cool if we could just bust out some cards". Of course, it didn't help that I just had a lot of stuff to begin with, so naturally my suitcase would be overflowing.

While being at the Academy, something changed and I don't feel like a overpacker anymore. I've tried to cut down on extraneous stuff and focus on bare essentials. I'm sure this had to do with not having a car and living two states away from my parents and college friends. This meant that getting home was often either flying or riding with another co-worker. In the latter case, I wouldn't want to fill someone else's car with my stuff and in the former case, overpackers pay through the nose. A moment that stands out for me was my first time leaving for a full week for Spring Break and being able to fit all my stuff in carry-on luggage. It definitely made the airport waiting time a lot shorter, particularly starting a trip in Minneapolis.

Unfortunately, the thing I still have to tackle with packing is the timing, as in not waiting until the last minute to do it. In my defense, when I'm traveling, I like to have the comfort of having some stuff I have at home. For example, I don't have a "travel toothbrush" and depending on the trip, I'll take my same pajamas as I wore before going. It would feel weird to have everything packed away way ahead of time. Of course, feeling a rush when I need to be heading out the door isn't fun either. I have had some trips where I forgot toiletry items or certain things to pass onto a friend, so it'd be nice to avoid those situations as well.

This is all ultimately leading up to me saying that I will be traveling this next week since Spring Break is here once again. I'll be flying to Minneapolis tomorrow for a college couples' wedding and seeing the crew for a couple days. Then, I'll be flying out to South Bend to spend some time with my best friend and getting to dive into the area. I'll still be blogging, but I figure I might as well announce it now.

Well, I really should get to bed. I have an early-ish flight, but since it's in Kansas City (and based on the paragraphs above, I'm not finished packing yet), I have to wake up quite early to make it all work. Wish me luck!