Earlier this year our daughter started the next chapter of her life, which involved moving out of home and commencing her university degree. Understandably there was excitement, trepidation, and a roller coaster of emotions in the lead up to the big move. Fortunately, for my wife and I, our daughter was quite clear on what she wanted to study, and she was only moving a little over an hour away from home.
Having now supported three children navigate the transition into ‘emerging adulthood’ and negotiate new login codes, new online platforms, new emails, new passwords, new insurances, new licences, new agreements, and on the list goes… I certainly do empathise with the demands and challenges of ‘adulting.’
So, moving day arrived, and with a fully loaded car we headed for the university. Our daughter was moving into a six-person shared residential apartment on university grounds. The apartment was on the second floor and connected to a community of well over 500 boarders.
Acts of Kindness abounded throughout our day and started with welcoming Residential Advisors who offered assistance, reassurance and friendly faces and smiles. Our daughter was given her swipe card that would give her access firstly to her building, then to her corridor, then to her apartment and finally to her room. We smiled nervously when we were told you only get one swipe card! Understandably, the doors all automatically close to ensure the safety of the community, but as our daughter unpacked her bags and set up her room, she turned and said, “I’m going to need a doorstop!”
The doorstop, or door wedge, would be used to prop open the door to her room so that she could meet and interact more easily with her new roommates. We had some available time and we decided to drive 5 minutes to the nearest Bunnings and purchased a $2.50 doorstop. Whilst we were there, our daughter suggested buying some extras and then she could ask others “Do you need a doorstop?” which we felt was a lovely gesture and most likely shaped by her earlier encounters with kindness from her new community.
As our daughter called home at the end of her first day, she shared with us that all five of her roommates had brought doorstops with them! So, she still has four doorstops sitting and waiting to be used. We think she is a chance to use them to prop open the building door, the corridor door, and her apartment door when she loses her swipe card!