I helped Margot move home from college last week and I couldn't be happier that she'll be here for the next three months.  Over the weekend we started to unpack and find places for her to put her stuff. In the process, I couldn't help but notice the essentials that I snuck into her luggage last fall, and I wondered which of these items she came to depend on the most:

Strap on head lamps (2) for vexing people at night.

Giant Pee Wee Herman Underpants (2), naturally.  

A Wiffle Bat (1) and Balls (2) for when you want to go outside and be social, but need an activity that validates your presence. This is the equivalent of doing The Bump with your friends at a school dance.

A giant roll of tickets (1), perfect for the impromptu raffling off of things from your dorm that don't belong to you.

A professional grade button maker (1) because no one else will have the ability to make and wear legit-looking buttons that advocate the "freeing" of people who are really not in any kind of pinch.

Yellow plastic police tape (1 roll), because the cordoning off of unpleasant college debris is always a hilarious come upon.