My tan line is fresh from the week before
My car full of blankets, decorations and pillows
My parents are ahead in their own car
Grandma is there too, she insists on coming
My music is blasting and my window is down
I love driving on the highway
My smile is from ear to ear
My hair blowing in the wind, but I don’t mind
We enter and I run to get my key
We unpack the cars, the sun burning into our backs
We laugh as my dad acts like he’s asleep in the car just to avoid carrying things
We rush into the building running to the nearest elevator
We sigh and put everything down for a second as it comes
We’re lost
We laugh even harder with sweat coming down our foreheads
We found the right room
We love it
We finish bringing everything upstairs and get to work
My friends text me asking if I’ve arrived
My phone is blowing up
My excitement is through the roof
They show up one by one to come and say hi
We talk about our summers and how much we missed each other
My family comes to help decorate, this year needs to be amazing
My family is putting up wallpapers, making the bed, putting up signs
We make jokes about how over the top I am
We laugh at all the effort being put in but in reality, we’re all happy to be here
We build and put together
We move and assess and move again and reassess
We go buy food to give us more energy
We love how it’s coming together
The sun is going down
The room is getting quieter as everyone starts to leave
The rug goes on last
The room is done and it's time to go
The hugs last 30 minutes and no one wants to depart
We do this every year, yet every year feels the same
My friends come and pull me out of the room to go catch up
The sun goes down and with it goes summer, the year has begun
My room is now where we all meet up before going out, where we go to just hang out, where we go to take pictures, listen to music, study or watch a movie. Move-in day was so much work so that my room could be the space for my friends and me. It is now October and every time I’m in my room I think of Move-In Day and how special it was and what a special space was created and the special people who helped me make it.