My Packing Problem

My Thanksgiving break was really great.  I slept in every day.  I ate amazing food.  I got to watch TV, ( I rarely have time for TV at school it seems).  But with every visit home, I run into the same problem and I never quite learn my lesson.  I simply over pack.  Every single time. And yet I know I have absolutely have no reason to pack anything at all! I have sweaters and jeans and everything else I need at home, and still, I cannot help but cram my case full with that “one sweater I just bought which I can’t leave behind at my dorm,” or my favorites boots, which lets face it, I love all of them, and I can’t bear the thought of not having access to them for a whole weekend.  I completely get the level of ridiculousness which is my over packing obsession.

And then I make it home.  I revisit my closet, and, gasp!  I think, “Why did I not take this shirt to school? OR these shoes?!”  The probles escalates, and so does the volume of my suitcase.  The night before my train back to Chicago I switch to a larger one.  I hungrily snatch my beloved possessions and fold and stuff until I reason that if I add anything else there is no way this thing will zip properly.  After my bingeing is over, I zip, and to my dismay, I can hardly lift it!  I re-strategize.  I remove the shoes.  I will, after all, be going home in a few more weeks, and I can live without those for the time being (I hope!).  Just to be sure, I also take out a couple of sweaters.  I zip, and voila! I can lift it, and therefore, I know I can get this baby on the train and not face the embarrassment of a conductor struggling to help me up the few steps.  I made it without any problem this time.

So tonight, as I unpack my last few things, I think how silly it is that I will be filling it back up in no time for winter break.  But I also think that it is just grand that Loyola has provided me with such great closet space for it not to matter so much.