Some 36 years ago I went through the rite of passage moving into college and spending my first hours getting organized and oriented on where I was going to be living for the next 4 years. While I was like most students, excited about getting away from the family house and finally having a sense of my own life direction, it was also awkward and unfamiliar. I managed to save a few photographs of the same; there I was some 150 pounds lighter and standing dorky with my typical outfit, skateboarding shirt, hat, baggy pants and worn up hightops, ready to tear off on the asphalt again as soon as I could break free from the required new student meetings.

Deja Vu

Now, I’m going through the same experience again, but this time it’s for my older daughter. It’s her turn to move out of the house and start her life on her own at university. We packed up the minivan with all her stuff and, amazingly, it all fit in her dorm room along with two other residents and their belongings.

Dorm life isn’t much different from four decades ago. Students are still stacked on top of each other with bunk beds, but at least the bed frames are a lot sturdier than what I had. There are plenty of more safety features in room thanks to some accidents over the years and dorm fires. Sensors of all types are clearly visible, and water sprinklers are standard now in rooms. Makes one think twice about having everything stored in plastic bins, just in case an unexpected swamping event occurs.

Fortunate Room Pick Results

My daughter lucked out with a brand-new building. Unlike the old structure I was in that had already taken a beating and groaned when the plumbing was used, she has new room décor, clean carpets, bright lighting and generally something the equivalent of a just- built hotel. She won’t be interested in dorm life all four years of school, but for a first year or two, she’ll be living pretty darn good. And we’re at least getting our money’s worth; some other top name schools we looked at pack their first year students into building that haven’t been renovated since the 1980s and don’t even have HVAC (ventilation is an open window and can get pretty ripe with three people in a room).

She also gets a common kitchen, something I also didn’t get the benefit of enjoying. My daughter is already an accomplished cook, so having the facilities in the same place as her dorm life comes in pretty handy for weekend food off the beaten path from her meal plan.

A Universe in the Palm of Your Hand

Most importantly, her school is a top name with an immense amount of learning, programs, additional seminars and presentations and labs. The amount of things that she’s be able to try out blows the socks off anything I had in college. I told her to pretty much treat the campus as a Disney hidden Mickey hunt. She needs to see how many things she can discover in four years versus making the mistake of trying to graduate as a fast as possible. She’s smart enough to understand what I mean. I wish I had been that intelligent when I was 18.