I hate change.

I have since I was little. Whenever I complain to my parents about a new development in my life, my mom reminds me of the time I freaked out about her haircut.

I spent four days as a toddler who didn’t recognize her mother because said mother cut her hair off. My dad had to pick me up from preschool that week to avoid temper tantrums.

But I got used to it and the world returned to normal. Until the next minor change, that is – like not being allowed to have pears before bed, or having to start eating breakfast at the table instead on the step stool underneath the counter, next to the cat’s dishes.

I hated the switch from middle school to high school. I thought a B on my first physics test was the end of the world, as grades weren’t even given the year before. And let’s not even mention the first month of college 1,200 miles away from home . My days were no longer structured; I longed for bells to changes classes. I sort of hated the freedom.

Even the smallest changes can be the bane of my existence. I’m left confused for days when software updates on my cell phone or computer change application icon and layouts, so I put them off as long as possible.

I don’t think I’m the only one. The world hates when Facebook and Twitter revamp their platforms. Statuses and tweets complain for days until everyone settles down and rediscovers the “like” and “retweet” buttons.

We face change everywhere, including on campus.

This week, the campus-favorite bagel and coffee shop, Espresso Royale Caffe, reopened its doors as Pavement Coffeehouse.

My friends and I were regulars at ERC, as it was known for short. Its mochas and everything bagels were staples for study sessions and Sunday morning hangovers.

The food and management aren’t changing – just the name is, well, and they’re adding couches – but as we walked past the paper-covered windows we agreed the name wouldn’t change in our hearts.

It’s yet another change we have to get used to, no matter how much we say we are still going to call it ERC.

Maybe the transition will be painless, but remember that summer when they named International Village?

We all thought it was odd and long, and no one really liked it. We’d heard it called Parcel 18 during planning and building.

For a period of time, it seemed like it was going to stick. We wondered what the significance of 18 was – it wasn’t the 18th dorm or building. It didn’t have 18 floors.

The city numbers its land parcels and without a name for the building project, it stuck with the university and resonated with students as the next big dorm and dining hall.

Freshmen and sophomores who just read that last sentence probably haven’t ever heard INV’s original name and are now thinking it was weirder than the current.

Northeastern also changed the school’s URL from neu.edu to Northeastern.edu and the “e” has slowly dropped from our initials (except in the myNEU portal). Athletics uses NU, student groups use NU and the Boston Globe abbreviates us as NU.

All were changes that tripped up a little in our daily lives.

Baseball season officially starts next week and I’ve got a personal issue to overcome. The once St. Louis left fielder who introduced me to the sport, now superstar first baseman with a funny last name, signed a record contract with a different team. Reading game recaps without Albert Pujols’ name sprinkled throughout will be just as weird as seeing my first game this summer without No. 5 batting in the three hole.

But I’ve prepared myself throughout the off-season and Spring Training. I’ve seen him in his new Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim, if you want to get sassy) uniform, heard his praise and watched interviews with him outside of St. Louis. It’s still weird, but I’ll survive.

The same can be said about ERC. Today we hate it, but when we come back in the fall and bite into that first everything bagel, we’ll have forgotten what used to hang above the door.

Because let’s face it:  We’re conformists.

-Sarah Moomaw can be reached at [email protected]