This post is inspired by an event that happened last week at 4:00 AM. The fire alarm was pulled in my dorm early in the morning, and everyone had to evacuate. I at first thought it was a dream, but soon came to realize that Gustavus probably wasn't cruel enough to have a drill at that time. I hopped out of bed, still in a sleepy daze, and frantically racked my brain for what I should bring. There's always those icebreaker questions about what 5 things you would bring with you if there were a fire, but in that moment, it was hard to think about what I should actually bring. I just stood there in the dark, looking around my room at what I needed. First, I was in my shortie shorts pajamas, so I grabbed a blanket to cover that situation up. From there, I was so torn between bringing what was sentimental to me such as my teddy bear and pictures, and what was necessary like my keys, laptop with all my information on it, money, etc. In the end, I was so torn between what I should bring that I decided to not decide. I left everything, including my keys to get back into the building, and headed out the door wrapped in a blanket with my shower shoes on. Granted, I think I would have known if there were a serious fire, but at that time, my mind went to the worst scenario possible. Through this situation, I learned what things I would bring with me during a serious fire, because I definitely screwed this one up!
1. My glasses
Being 4:00 in the morning, everything was already in blur because I was half awake. I soon realized that without my glasses, literally everything was a blur. There were people talking to me, but the only reason I knew who they were was because I knew their voice. I haven't gone into the great outdoors without my glasses or contacts for years, and I had no idea that my eyesight was THIS bad now. Because I could not see a thing, that means I couldn't see everyone looking at their "absolute best" which I'm sure they were ok with, I just hope they couldn't see my bed head either. I did in fact see the guy that was wearing jeans standing near me, so props to him for trying to look presentable at 4:00 in the morning. As I was standing there, I started to think of all the things I couldn't do without my glasses. I definitely could not drive home, and it limited me in more ways than I imagined. With that, glasses are a necessity!
2. My keys
You'd think I would be smart enough to bring my keys with me, but at this time, my decisions were not at their prime. When I say keys, I am referring to my lanyard that has my student ID, car keys, dorm key, credit card, insurance card, drivers license, and my rewards card to 3rd Street Tavern. Before you judge me, I am at college to learn about psychology, not that I should bring the only tangible forms of identification, only set of keys to my car, and money with me in a situation where they could end up as ashes. When it came to fires, we were only taught to stop drop and roll in school! I thought about taking them with me, but for some odd reason, I thought "nah I'm good." This may have been due to an underlying hatred for my school ID picture, so maybe I wanted it to burn. All in all, if I had to bring something with me during a real fire, I would bring my keys, aka the most valuable thing in this room (can't lose the rewards card, I'm almost to a free appetizer).
3. My phone
I debated even listing this on here because it basically has become a part of my hand. The only difference between this incident, and if there were a real fire, is that I think I would call my parents first instead of Snapchatting all my friends to show that I was outside at 4 in the morning. I can confidently say that I think everyone remembered their phone because I proceeded to see the same snap story from everyone who lives in my dorm. All of the stories were videos of a group full of students standing in their pjs, robes, shirtless, or that one dude in jeans (still impressed). Now, I am not saying that I would bring my phone during a real fire because I can't imagine life without my Instagram (it was proved in my previous Media Fast post that I CAN survive a full 24 hours without it), but because phones have the ability to actually call people that college students forget about! My phone would have been very important during this situation if it were a real fire because at this point, my car keys would have been as burnt as the popcorn I make when I try to microwave it. Without car keys, I can't get home to go get replacements for literally everything I own, so my phone would stand as a great tool to get in contact with my parents to come get me! As much as I loved wear your pjs to school day when I was younger, I would prefer to make a call and get some clothes rather than wear my (practically see through) Aerie jammies to class!
4. Laptop
This is where I start to make the decisions about what things I should bring that I don't necessarily need. As a college student, I basically have my life on this laptop. As much money as this Mac is, I would rather not lose it, but it isn't the laptop that I would want to save. It is the hours of time spent working on psychology research papers that I am proud of, presentations, and projects. If my Google-fanatic brother were here, he would say "if you put everything on drive, you don't have to worry about that." Yeah, yeah, Christopher, I have heard it many times! For the record, Christopher and I have many debates about all things Google, and it usually ends with my dad having to mediate us. I like to remind him that he is using an Apple computer whenever he tries to promote Android. It may just be underlying tensions of our Gustie-Ole rivalry which he would then make a comment that no one at St. Olaf had to evacuate their dorm at 4 that morning.
5. Jewelry Box
Again, not something that I necessarily need, but there are some irreplaceable pieces that I would want with me. The sentimental side of me would want to take it with me because it has the birthstone necklaces my Grandad specially picked out and gave to me. He passed away a few years ago, and wearing them is a way to feel like he is still here with me. I also have the necklace I wore on my baptism day in 5th grade, the cross necklace I received from my parents on my confirmation day, my Sigma Sigma Sigma official pin, and other pieces family members have to me from other occasions. Each piece has a story. It isn't the physical pieces of jewelry I would be saving, but rather the memories and feelings that are associated with them.
6. Medications
Why go buy all new prescriptions and supplements when you can just save yourself the trouble and money, and bring them with you? For my disorder, I have to follow a strict schedule for taking my supplements, otherwise it will flare up during the night and I will get no sleep. Kind of ironic, because this time the fire alarm woke me up in this situation! To sum it all up, I am on 12 supplements that I take daily, 3 times a day, to manage my disorder. They are a mix of creams, pills, liquids, and powders. In the morning I take 17 pill capsules total, 3 drops of vitamin D on my tongue, 1 syringe of refrigerated turmeric, 1 pump of adrenal cream that smells like Froot Loops rubbed on my stomach, and 2 throat sprays of some stuff that I really don't know what it does, but both MUST be before 5 PM. The afternoon calls for another pump of the cream, and 13 capsules. The evening is also 13 capsules plus another syringe of turmeric, pump of adrenal cream, and a scoop of magnesium mixed into water. Because of all this, I have a pill box for every single day of the week! I like when people ask what pills I have to take because then I can tell them all the names which make me sound like I am speaking another language, yet I have no idea whatsoever what they do. Zinc, fish oil, Adaptocrine, Glutathione Recyclyer, HemeVite, Neuro Flam, and Gluten Flam! Whoever can tell me what HemeVite is gets a virtual high five.
7. Shoes
As much as I loved wearing my shower shoes the day of the evacuation, I would prefer a more substantial shoe without holes in the sole to prevent suction in the shower. There were quite a few people standing outside without shoes which surprised me. That morning when I had to sleepily put on shoes, I probably would have forgotten if my shower sandals weren't sitting by the door. I must say, fashion choices are interesting at 4 in the morning. I saw short shorts paired with Uggs, cat slippers, fancy bath robes, a guy wearing nothing but shorts and a pair of boat shoes, and then there was jeans guy that looked completely normal. I'll go for my Nikes next time there's another false alarm at 4 AM.
8. Charlie
I know that I am 19, and having stuffed animals isn't cool anymore, but the one thing that I would probably cry over if it was lost in a fire, is my buddy Charlie. As you can see, he is very well loved, and yes, that shirt was specially embroidered for him. I won him at a school carnival in first grade, and since then, he has been through thick and thin with me. To those who read my post about my FND story, my one request that first night in the hospital was for someone to go home and get Charlie for me. He has been at all my hospital stays, and has given me comfort during the nights that I am up with my disorder episodes, even to this day. Over the years he has also been dressed up in many outfits, been to family occasions, sporting events, rode to school with me in my backpack, long car rides, traveled to gymnastics camps and meets, was next to me on the couch on sick days, helped me practice speeches, and made his transition to college. Because of all these adventures, he has also made some trips to the washing machine (which my mom never told me because when I was little I thought the washing machine would kill him). This little dude really is the closest "person" who understands all that I have gone through since I viewed him as basically a human being when I was younger, and would tell him everything. He has experienced my high and my lows, and just the thought of losing my connection to my childhood, and a source of comfort makes me sad. So if there were a real fire, Charlie is the absolute first thing I would grab!
There's the first 8 things I would grab if there were a fire! After writing this, I sat and just looked around my room racking my brain to see if there was anything important enough to save. Interesting how my textbooks never came to mind! This led me to searching the internet for recommended items to bring. Every single site said they have a "fire ready" bag sitting in their room so you can just get up and go! This led me to imagining every person in my dorm walking out with little duffel bags, and I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. To wrap this up, as much as it was an inconvenience to be woken up this early, it showed me that there are worse alarm tones to be woken up to than the ones on my phone, it is possible to wear jeans and still look good at 4 AM, eyesight is important, and lastly, it made me stop and think about what is ACTUALLY important to me. Although I am pretty sure there will not be a fire in this building unless I am cooking something, it is important to think about the things that seem like they will never happen, because it really does throw you off in the moment!
Have a wonderful week, my friends! And stay fire alarm free!
~Lauren