Feels Like Home

Build It Better

I packed the last box into my car and slammed the trunk. I was physically and mentally exhausted at this point from staying up all night. My anxiety was not letting me sleep last night and I tried everything. But today was the day and I had more important matters to attend to. Moving.

"Well do you have everything you need?" my mom asked while bracing her hands on my shoulders before pulling me into an awkward yet tight hug. She was a lot shorter than me so I'm not quite sure why she tried to wrap her arms around my neck. I nodded.

"Be safe. Let us know when you get there safe and sound." my dad stated before also pulling me into a tight hug.

"I will. I promise." I smiled at them and waved goodbye as I jumped into the driver seat of my car. I plugged in my phone and buckled my seat belt before playing "Build It Better" by Aron Wright.

I can't say I wasn't going to miss home but I can't say I would either. My school was full of people determined to make something out of nothing. I had my friends I would miss like Marcus, Riley, Jaxon, Kade, Melanie, and Marie, but something about starting over seemed like a great option. Aron says "You'll always build it better the second time around" and this was my chance to do just that.

My boyfriend James had already texted me wishing me a happy move-in day, but something about it seemed off. I didn't question it. These past few months have been hard on us considering he moved to Pittsburgh right after graduation and hasn't come back since. I love him don't get me wrong, there's just a lot of pressure on us to get it right. Distance isn't the best for relationships.

The three hour drive from Sandusky to Columbus isn't the most interesting one I've ever seen, but it's not awful. I had the perfect playlist going, some snacks just in case, and nobody to judge me for singing. I decided to change the song to more of a bop to keep me awake. I went with my bops playlist and "Going Bad" by Meek Mill ft Drake stared blaring through my speakers.

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The drive up was completely uneventful but I had finally made it. Ohio State University was where I wanted to go since I was in middle school. I mean come on have you seen their band? That was the whole reason for my interest in Ohio State University that and it's in-state so I don't have to worry about more tuition. Sadly I wasn't in the marching band since I missed my audition window but next year for sure.

I parked outside the building since they weren't giving "wrong zone" tickets until classes began in 5 days. I ran inside and checked in with my advisor. She gave me the key to my dorm so I could check and make sure everything was fine. While I was up there, I decided to push my bed up against the wall and put my desk next to where the fridge would be. I ran back down to the first floor and signed everything I needed to before checking out a shopping cart to help with the load of stuff I brought.

I took the cart out to my car so I could figure out a way to tetris everything. I wanted to make one trip and one trip only. Luckily, just as I began to struggle to put everything in my cart, my friends from my first high school, Celia and Royce, showed up to help me out.

"Hey Ardy! How was your summer?" Royce smiles, trying to make conversation as we struggle to put the fridge on the dolly my dad gave me.

"It was alright. I'm ready to get started in college finally. Well that and get away from my parents"

"I feel that" Celia laughed as she stacked some boxes into the shopping cart. Both me and Celia had interesting relationships with our parents. By that I mean they always tried to tell us how to look, dress, speak, heck even breathe right. Which is ironic considering Celia had asthma but as she likes to say: "It ain't easy being wheezy."

We continued to pack up the cart and the dolly before taking everything, in one trip, into my dorm on the 6th floor. Lucky for me, my building has an elevator. We set up my bed and my door decorations before they had to go unpack their own dorms. After they left I unpacked my desk and my clothes and tried to get everything as organized as possible before my roommate showed up. I spoke to my roommate a little bit over the internet before actually moving in together however she wasn't my original roommate. I had met this girl, Madeline, before picking my roommate for sure. She was great but she wanted communal bathrooms so I had to I couldn't. My anxiety would never allow, and yet here I was moving into my communal dorm. Funny how irony works.