Coming back to school is always fun.

After a summer at home under your parents’ roof, you are finally back with your friends for nine months of freedom.

While it is great to come back to school, the hard part is always unpacking.

After the long car ride, the last thing you want to do is move a dresser and mattress up the stairs.

And after getting reacquainted with people you haven’t seen all summer, who wants to put clothes on hangers?

If I get unpacked by the third week of school, that will be a huge victory.

I came back down to Charleston on Monday, and my room is still in disorder.

My clothes are mostly still in the bags they came in. I have boxes all over the place.

But don’t worry-my television is already set up. Between watching seasons of “The Office” on DVD, naps, playing hearts on my computer and did I mention-naps-who really has the time?

My roommates started arriving on Wednesday and for three days our house looked like an opium flophouse.

The front room was littered with mattresses, which in turn were littered with hungover bodies, we had a TV/DVD player set up on the floor and our small front room garbage can was filled with fast food bags.

Luckily for me, I have roommates who actually like to be clean and stuff.

So now our house is pretty much all the way set up.

Unlike me, they also have already set up their rooms.

For those like me who have yet to set up your room, I think I know the perfect times to do it.

The best time is always when you have something more important to do that you want to put off.

I know tests and papers usually start coming in week one or two of the school year, so instead of getting those done, start hanging up your clothes.

Another great time to start setting up is right before you know a parent or sibling may visit. Naturally, they will come and be disgusted and disappointed you were too lazy to put away your DVDs.

So wait until about 20 minutes before they are set to arrive and start unpacking like a mad man (or mad woman).

By the time they roll up in the driveway, they will never know. Unpacking is probably the worst part of coming back to school.

Hopefully, you are not as lazy as me and have already finished the task.

For those of you that haven’t, Family Weekend starts Oct. 1.

Dan Cusasck is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at

dscusack@eiu.edu