Traveling can be amazing; the sights, the activities, and the experiences all make up what a vacation is like. While traveling, a person must have clothes to wear, hence packing.

Packing is different for everyone; some people like to wait till the very last minute to pack, others start packing weeks in advance.

“You know, I have never liked packing. It’s like the dark side of the moon when traveling,” junior Rachel Spohn said.

What is packed is essential for a vacation; it determines how comfortable a person is for the entire trip. If a person forgets everything, the vacation will be spent complaining. Spohn continually referred to herself as the “packing genie,” claiming she could have nothing in her suitcase the night before she leaves and be packed well for seven days and not miss anything.

Spohn gives advice for non-packing genies, “Do not be like me, I’m sometimes running out the door throwing toothpaste in my bag.”

On the other side of the spectrum, there are the people like sophomore Kathryn Venzon, the early packers. Packing early can be anywhere from a week early to the moment the trip is booked, seven months in advance.

“Packing is dreadful, I don’t want to be more stressed and wait till the last minute to finish, it’s just easier,” Venzon said.

Early packers do have the advantages of things such as checklists, and planning guides. Venzon gave some insight on her packing process saying she likes to use different colors to show what she has left to pack on her list. Venzon claims that color coding her list helps her pack because she is least likely to forget something.

No matter what kind of packer a person is, we all end up in the same place, with a suitcase full of items heading out for a time away from home.

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