What to Pack?

What to pack and not to pack when going to college.

Not your regular views of things to take, like lockers, extra socks, etc. or things to leave like, high school jackets. But things like values, principles, etc.

For example, one of things I'm glad I packed was good judgment. Knowing how to avoid foolish actions that I would regret later. Something I wish I hadn’t packed was a view of how people must be outside of my hometown. I’m not sure of the word to define it but I came to school with an East Coast view of the world; anyone south of the Philadelphia airport couldn’t be hip, street smart or down. Of course I was proved wrong.

My goal is to help those who are entering college to think about, pause and reflect on (even if for only a minute) the important things they already possess that will be valuable in college. Also the things they need to leave home in order to get the most out of their experience.

If anyone would be willing to share their thoughts, I'm sure it will impact future college attendees. If you have a story/experience that illustrates your example, please feel free to share.

Cheese Bread

When my wife and I were dating we enjoyed going to Red Lobster. The food was pretty good, we really loved their cheese bread (more like a biscuit). It was always baked golden brown, soft, flaky, buttery, and filled with warm, delicious cheddar cheese. They were so good you'd ask for extra to take home.

One night we decided to hit Big Red and get our share of cheese bread. At the time, the salads there were sorry; not even worth being free. They’ve upgraded since, but at that time, terrible. So, with that in mind, we ordered and instructed our waiter to hold the salads. As we’re waiting, we started to notice other people served baskets of cheese bread and for some reason none had come our way. We figured our waiter was making sure we received a fresh batch. But after a few more minutes of waiting and a few more tables working on their second basket of bread, we knew something was wrong. Just as we were getting ready to look for our waiter to have a "conversation" with him about this oversight, he reemerged with our entrées...but no bread. We mentioned to him about his error and he replied, “No, I didn’t forget...the cheese bread comes with the salad.”

Our dilemma was what many struggle with now.

We wanted the cheese bread, but weren't willing to accept the salad. The "cheese bread" represents our wants, needs and desires; the "salad" is the change we must go through to acquire those things.

Maybe, at times, you've, like me, have wrestled with not getting what you want. How about asking yourself:

"Have I been waiting for the cheese bread, not realizing it won't come until I'm willing to accept the salad?"