Features
Jordan Jenkins ’17 delivers a package to Katie Kiesel ’17 at the mail center, one of the College’s busiest locations.
You've got mail
By Michelle Chung ’20
February 23, 2017
Tags features
At a place like Hamilton College, home of one bookstore and a bunch of trees on campus, students don’t have wide access to buy things they may want or need. As a result, either Amazon Prime becomes your best friend, or you learn to cherish the unexpected care packages that your parents send off, each filled with love and the essentials you were too lazy to buy yourself. Some of the items we most look forward to are...
“A Whole Bunch of Drugs (and Other Wellness Things)”
Within the bubble that is college, it’s extremely easy to get sick with the forever-circulating Continental Cold. Students can get a runny nose or sore throat in just one easy payment of being roommates with someone who’s infected or sitting next to the kid in class that won’t stop coughing. At any college, in fact, the spread of germs is inevitable and quick. When parents aren’t there to bring up soup or check our temperature for us while we’re dying in bed, a care package filled with cough drops, tea bags, honey, ibuprofen, cold medicine and tissues is the perfect remedy for any sickness.
"We Hope You’re Still Alive and Eating”
Ramen packets, mac and cheese, canned soup and energy drinks make up the stereotypical (but somewhat true) staples of a college student’s diet, especially when Commons and Mcewen close early. In these winter months, there is also a high chance that students simply don’t want to leave the comfort of their dorms. Alongside the occasional bags of candy and chocolate, care packages filled with food are blessings to the average, hungry, broke college kid. Besides, who’s really counting things like MSG or calories?
“A Sappy but Cute Reminder: You Got This”
Essays, exams, jobs, rehearsals, practices and the amount of work that college students are expected to complete seems never-ending, and the stress that builds up on their backs can definitely be hard to handle. Even so, the immediate sight of loving cards accompanied by energy-filled treats like granola bars or instant coffee can easily make a college student’s heart swell, especially at the thought of their caring parents back at home. Reminders that someone is rooting for them, even through the most difficult of times, is always a warm and heartfelt feeling. Throw in a stress relieving ball or bubble wrap and maybe studying for a final at 3 a.m. won’t seem so bad after all.
“Sweet Ol’ Cash”
Despite how much they may try, parents don’t always get it right. While the sentiment of a care package loaded with cute decorations and well thought-out trinkets is nice, the sight of Benjamin Franklins in an envelope is incredibly exciting. Sometimes, college students just need to buy their own care packages, especially ones that they might not necessarily ask from their parents (see unlisted: “You Never Gave Me the Sex Talk but You Told Me to be Safe So…” and “I Know College is for Learning but I’m Trying to ‘Work Hard, Play Hard’”). College is all about being independent, and for the most part, (secretly) buying things is the way to go. Whether you’re sent a care package or not, material objects shipped in a cardboard box don’t determine whether or not people are thinking about you. Love can simply come from the people on campus around you who are there to help during your college experience, or from the occasional call by a worried parent or close friend at home. As a whole, care packages, phone calls and the presence of your classmates can all be warm and fuzzy—just remember to say thanks to the people who do show you that they care.