The things NIC students ‘carry’

Students come here from all different places; some from a neighboring town or the next state over, and some come from across the country, but regardless of where we come from there are certain things that we all felt the need to carry with us.

Many of the items that students carried to college with them were necessary for living in the dorms and for going to school, like clothes, bedding and pillows, textbooks, a laptop, etc., but it seems a number of students didn’t limit themselves to just the essentials.

“The Things They Carried” is a fictional novel by Tim O’Brien which focuses on the items that American soldiers carried with them in the Vietnam War.

Many of the items that soldiers carried into war with them were necessary for surviving and for battle, like heat tabs, guns and ammunition, mosquito repellent, compasses, malaria tablets, etc. In addition to these essentials, soldiers also brought along love letters, pictures of their loved ones back home, and even superstitious items or good-luck charms. One soldier actually wears a pair of his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck for good luck.

They carried these items with them to get a sense of home and security while navigating their way through these uncharted times in their lives, and like the soldiers, I found that many students find the same kind of solace in certain things that they carried with them to college.

18 year-old Japheth Taylor just moved here from Anchorage, Alaska, to work on his business degree and to play with the NIC boys’ soccer team, and with him came several mementos to remind him of the people and good times he had back home. Taylor brought pictures of his family and his girlfriend, as well as, a pair of soccer cleats that his girlfriend got for him.

“I practice with them sometimes and it reminds me that when I’m playing soccer she’s there with me,” Taylor said.

Japheth Taylor’s “lucky shin guards” and his captain armband from the Service High School varsity soccer team in Anchorage, Alaska

In addition to items that remind him of his family and girlfriend, Taylor carried with him a few tokens of his many years playing soccer back in Alaska.

“I’m a soccer player, so I brought my lucky shin guards,” Taylor said, as well as “my captain armband from high school. It kind of reminds me that I can be a leader if I put in the work, so I brought that too”

Based on Taylor’s answers to my question, it is apparent that he values soccer, family, and his relationship with his girlfriend a great deal, and whether he is alone in his dorm room or out on the field, he knows he can look to these items for comfort while he navigates his way through this unfamiliar stage of his life.

While some very quickly grasped this idea and had no trouble coming up with a list of things that they carried with them to help cope with being away from home, others didn’t quite feel the need to bring such items.

Taylor Rodeen, age 19, is a second year student at NIC working towards her business degree, and a second year resident in the campus dorms. “My first year here I brought way too many clothes. I knew what I needed to bring this time.”

Rodeen is from Pullman, Washington, so she is only a short drive away from getting a dose of home if she ever needs it. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense for me to bring all that stuff because home isn’t that far away.”

While the ideology makes sense, Rodeen’s approach does not convince me that it’s a universal truth that you have to travel a long way to feel the need to carry comforting items with you wherever you go.

Annie Larrondo, age 19, came here from Boise, Idaho to study architecture, and has made quite the effort to acclimate herself to dorm living while decorating her room with pieces of her home.

A painting by Annie Larrondo in Stolle Meadows, Idaho where Larrondo works at a horse camp in the summers

“I brought a lot of art, just because I’m a very visual person. I have a painting of one of my favorite places and a painting of my dog,” Larrondo said.

She also brought her favorite pillow from her bed at home to help herself feel more physically at ease in this new setting, “at least my body will be comfortable and not all out of whack.”

Even though Larrondo didn’t have to travel across states to be here, she still went through the trouble of carrying items which help her feel more in her element while she is away from home.

Another painting by Larrondo at a hidden lake near her grandparents cabin called Noseum lake with her dog, Luci

Tim O’Brien’s novel was obviously a big part of the inspiration that went into writing this column, but another part was the grief that I received from others for the superfluous things that I carried with me to college. I brought an excessive amount of books and notebooks for my own personal entertainment and use, because I am a writer.

When I was packing my clothes and other belongings into boxes before I came here, there wasn’t a moment that I hesitated to think that I don’t need all of these books, or consider the hassle it’d be to bring them with me, I just packed them.

I know that I probably won’t have much time outside of school work to read or write on my own, but when I look around my room and see the stacks of books cluttering my desk, it reminds me of home and all the stacks of books around my house that my mom calls “decoration”.

Home might only be a few hours away by car, or several long flights from where you are now. No matter where you come from, it’s hard to find that feeling of contentment when you’re away from home, especially in such a stressful stage of life, but it’s all about the little things that make you happy.

Whether it be a tent in a battle field or a cramped dorm room on a college campus, there’s nothing wrong with taking the extra strides to find comfort wherever you go.

I hope for all of those home-sick students out there, like me, to be able to find a sense of home here from the things they carried.