Carry-On, My Traveling Son

       Your carry-on is probably the most important bag you have while abroad. It will carry all the most important things you have, will mostly likely be your travel bag while abroad for weekend trips, and will save you, hopefully, from fees on overweight luggage when coming back to the States.

What to Pack in Your Carry-On:

• EVERYTHING IMPORTANT - this means your documents, copies of your documents, passport, boarding passes, flight itinerary, entry letter, program details, ID, money/credit cards/debit cards, and emergency numbers
• Things to keep you entertained - laptop, books, phone (even though you probably won't be able to use it once you take off), iPod, notebooks, journals, headphones, puzzles, etc.
• Valuables - this is all the jewelry you're taking (don't take expensive stuff - god forbid you lose it), chargers, electronics, prescription medication and prescription from the doctor, and irreplaceable items
• A change of clothes (or two) - as much as we hate to admit it, bags get lost all the time; keeping an extra pair of underwear, socks, pants, and a shirt in your carry-on gives you at least a day's worth of clothes to get your bag back or quickly buy some replacements until your bag is found; my bag was lost when I traveled to Japan, and thankfully I had an extra outfit in my carry-on which was just enough to tide me over until my bag arrived; EVEN IF YOU HAVE A DIRECT FLIGHT, PACK EXTRA CLOTHES, YOU NEVER KNOW
• Travel toiletries - a hairbrush, hair tie, make-up, mouth wash, feminine products (you never know), and pain reliever; it's a safe bet you're going to be on the airplane for at least 6 hours, most likely over night, and you don't want your host country's first image of you to be unbrushed hair, morning breath, and yesterday's make-up smeared across your face; freshening up in the airplane bathroom before landing will wake you up and make you feel ready for the day, no matter how bad your jetlag is; just be sure to keep these toiletries in compliance with airport regulations and in a Ziploc bag 
• Magical Items - I'm a superstitious person and never travel without one item to protect me; in Japan, during a series of unfortunate events, I bought a stuffed Shisa (an Okinawan lion-dog that's said to be a guardian of fortune) which now sits in my car everyday, but because I was traveling a long way, I decided to bring him with me to avoid bad luck; magical items should always be kept with you rather than in your checked luggage, really just as a courtesy to the item; would you want to be shoved in a suitcase for 8 hours and stored under a plane? probably not
• Overflow - anything that you can't keep in your big suitcase because you're over 50 pounds because you just absolutely needed that third pair of heels or that fourth dress because what if you're out at a pub and a really cute British guy comes up to you and asks you out; you would definitely want to wear it on your date with him

Luggage my mother gave me for Christmas - the suitcase and carry-on matched and was very easily identifiable in an airport; the carry-on was also spacious and had a laptop pocket - always useful!