I left for work on a Tuesday morning the owner of two laptop computers, two external hard drives, a PlayStation 3, several video games, and a trumpet. When I returned home, I no longer owned any of those things. I also was no longer in possession of my Social Security card, my passport, the title to my car, my personal checks, all of my digital photos and songs, and a few hundred bucks. All I was left with, more or less, were my clothes. I think this is because I mainly shop at sporting goods stores.

NA/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images

Hell yeah.

There's nothing that prepares you for home robbery. Burglars don't stick a "So You're About to Be a Home Invasion Victim" pamphlet in your mailbox a few days before they come to your house. Burglary is a scenario you don't think about because until it happens to you, it's something that only happens to other people. Besides, if you lock your windows and doors, what more can you do besides never leave the house? And even then, your home might get robbed.

Because I was lucky to grow up in a house that was never robbed, and even though I don't ever remember locking a door in college, this was the first time my home had ever been robbed. It was strange. It was emotional. I learned a few things.