Many local families will spend part of the weekend moving their college students to campus.
There's sure to be some last-minute packing going on today for some; others will have had their supplies organized for weeks.
Some students won't be able to tell their parents which classes they're taking this semester on the ride out; then there will be those who start studying in the car.
Article Photos
Scott Shelters
Five years ago this past week, I moved into a dorm for the first time.
My family and I lugged a mini fridge, clothes, posters, books, TV, and other essential and non-essential items into my room in hopes of making it feel like home.
I was nervous about a lot of things from money to classes to girls. Most of all, I was worried about meeting my roommate.
During college orientations, I remember upperclassmen speaking about how they became best friends with their roommates. However, I had also heard stories of freshmen getting stuck with some pretty strange characters.
I'm not going to sugarcoat it; my roommate and I did not become best friends. We didn't hate each other, but we don't exchange holiday letters either.
I came to St. Bonaventure from Falconer. He was studying abroad.
Our habits didn't match up. He was awake when I was asleep and vice versa. I watched sports and "South Park." He played "World of Warcraft" on his laptop. His English was a little shaky, and he didn't seem to like talking to me a whole lot.
My friends liked to go out and have a good time. His friends stayed in, trashing our hall on weekends, and on one memorable occasion threw our floor's microwave out a third-story window.
I thought about switching rooms a couple of times, but the right opportunity never presented itself.
We made it through the end of the year, shook hands, looked each other in the eye and said, "It was nice living with you."
The more I think about my first year at college, it was nice living with him. Sharing a room with a young man who had different interests than I did was a good experience for me.
If I only had to spend time with people I genuinely liked and no one else, I probably wouldn't get out much.