Freshmen duo creates home at Teter Quad

Freshman Kaylee Cox stood still in the bustle of parents, students, cars and carts outside Teter Quad.

Behind her was a mountain spread out on the curb. There were boxes, suitcases, laundry baskets and bedding. Almost everything was cheetah print, and what wasn’t cheetah was pink or black. Even the silver “Indiana” letters on her shirt were in animal print.

“I have a lot of stuff. But we’re decorating like cheetah,” she said.

Kaylee was one of thousands of IU freshmen that moved in across campus Wednesday, IU’s official move-in day.

She woke up at 5:30 a.m. and drove two and a half hours from Evansville with her mother and aunt. Hours later, she stood on the curb alone, texting. Her mom, Tammy, and aunt had left to park the car.

Her roommate, Kaitlyn, a friend from high school, hadn’t arrived yet. Kaylee was excited to meet people and learn the area, but for the moment, she was waiting.

***
“Party in the USA” was blaring through the air. Move-in assistants in red shirts danced with balloons at the front entrance. Kaylee’s mom and aunt returned.

“Looks like we’ve got a leopard theme going on,” her mom said.

From behind them, assistants offered to help carry Kaylee’s things to her room.

The first things Kaylee grabbed were some pink photo albums, her pink laptop case and her pink purse.

Kaylee’s room was on the fifth floor, but luckily, her building had an elevator. With about six people and all the boxes, it was a tight squeeze. Everyone waited.
“Did you turn your key to five?” one of the assistants asked.

“Oh,” Kaylee said. “I didn’t know you had to.”

Once everyone was out of the elevator, they turned down the hall. 516, 514. They turned the other way. 518.

“Welcome home!” Kaylee’s mom said.

Kaylee turned the key the wrong way, but then she opened the door and saw her room for the first time. She looked around. It was smaller than she expected.

“Well, this is great for Kaylee’s stuff, but now where’s Kaitlyn’s room?” her mom said, laughing.

***
About an hour later, Kaylee’s family had acquired a cart. With the help of four move-in assistants, they took the last load. Kaylee had officially moved in.

“What do we do now?” Tammy asked. “You’re here, you’ve got your stuff.”

They were at a standstill again. The room was cluttered with suitcases, boxes and totes. Kaylee wanted to start with bedding, but she couldn’t until she unbunked the beds, and she couldn’t unbunk the beds until she had more room.

“What’s in here?” Kaylee asked, bag in hand.

“I think purses, snacks, some tennis rackets, food,” her mom said.

They eventually started unpacking. Kaylee put away her running shorts while her aunt draped her jeans in the closet. Her mom set up electrical cords. Her and her roommate’s matching animal-print robes were already in the closets.

They already had a pile of things to take back home, and at the same time were planning a Walmart run to buy what they had forgotten.

Kaylee was ready to be on her own. Even though she said she’s pretty close with her family and knows she’ll miss them, she’s excited to be more independent.

Once everything was organized and it was time to go, though, her mom wasn’t so sure.

“I will miss her, and I’ll go home to an empty house, and I won’t have any more functions to attend. And it’ll all just stop,” Tammy said. “They don’t need you as much anymore. It’s different for the kid, but it’s different for the parent as well. We’re both entering a new stage.”