SmithieSense

I watched the first debate in a room full of 100+ smithies! I wrote a paper on the second debate for my elections class. Tomorrow is the day!

Mountain Day was last Wednesday! Mountain day is a Smith holiday when our President, Kathy, calls off classes and every goes and enjoys the beautiful New England Fall. Naturally, this means apple picking, sometimes hiking, definitely photos. How did you spend Mountain Day? 

Packing Tips: A Northrop House Series

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This week’s college essentials list is brought to you by Nina Sajankila ‘19 (pictured on the right wearing yellow flower crown)! 

Top Five Essentials:  

1. A cushion for your chair - My mom bought me a cushion before coming to Smith, which I didn't  think was necessary but after arriving, I found the chairs in our rooms really hard and uncomfortable. The cushion just adds comfort and makes working at your desk even better.

2. Good lighting - I'm very picky about the lighting in my room. When it's too dark in the room for sunlight to be effective, the lights were not very bright and depending on where my desk was, the light would cast a shadow on my paper. I think having a lamp, even just a desk lamp is really useful.

3. A fan - It get's really hot, especially on the top floors.

4. Enough warm layers - I get cold really easily so I brought leggings to wear under my jeans, which were really comfortable and kept me warm. 

Packing Tips: A Northrop House Series

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Tips this week from Ana Porro ‘19! 

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My first tip is that you do not need as much as you think you need. It is not necessary to move all of the things that you have in your room at home into your room at school. 

Clothing: With clothes only bring the items that you KNOW you are going to wear/aka the ones you wear a lot now. I honestly did not use three of the drawers of my dresser on a regular basis because I brought clothes that I didn't want to wear! I wear athletic clothes every day at home and I do the same at school. Same goes for my closet, too many dresses and coats that I did not ever wear. Shoes: Shoes are also important to limit as well. If you actively work out I say bring two pairs of sneakers but really limit dressy shoes and more rarely worn shoes as well. Extra Furniture:I think it was very helpful for me to have under bed storage and the bins to help organize all of the random stuff. However, I brought many things that I did not need that ended up in the bins. I didn't use my hairdryer more than to dry wet yoga pants and I broke open my gigantic makeup bag less than 10 times throughout the whole year. Only bring what you really think you need and know that you will use. Extras: 

Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?

Packing Tips: A Northrop House Series 

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This Month, I’ll be featuring tips (and methods and styles) from Smithies about packing for college! This week’s guest contributor, Sarah Foster ‘19, came all the way from Montana with everything she needed! Check out her system...

5 Rules for Packing

1. Don't get attached to little things...you will collect so many things throughout your four years at Smith that you will end up having to throw out most of it anyways.

2. Try to only bring the necessities such as clothing, shoes, bedding...especially if you are traveling by plane! ( Don't worry we have Target close by, so you can get anything and everything you need when you get to Smith)

3. Roll clothing so that everything packs tightly together...trust me you will have so much more space to add more clothes "You just can't leave behind!"

4. Dedicate one smaller bag to shoes and toiletries and the bigger bag to clothing.

5. Most importantly DON'T be afraid to leave things behind because like I said earlier you collect things once you get to college, such as... a lot of memorabilia!

Just remember all 5 of these things are possible, I brought everything I needed in just 3 bags!!!

Classes start in about a month, which means that in just a few weeks I’ll be reunited with my little sib! The HONS (Head of New Students) matched us (and all of the other pairs) up last fall, and then I spent a week planning and delivering little gifts and signs to Natalie - my little - in the night, so that they would be there when she left (or sometimes when she returned) from Crew practice in the morning. It was such a fun week - that ended on Friday with a reveal (she missed it, but we met up later)! Sib week is fun as a little (I had wonderful big sibs my first year at Smith) but I think it is even more fun as an upperclass student because you get to plan and be a little sneaky to keep your identity a surprise... you also bond with the other big sibs. In my house, we worked together to confuse everyone, stayed up late making signs and wall decorations for our littles, etc.