Living on a college campus can be a fun, exciting part of your life. Finally away from home and parents, you can start getting used to living as an adult, either by yourself or with roommates. But with that freedom comes more adult responsibilities. As you go through your years at Mercer, hopefully you start to mature and grow into your adult responsibilities, giving you much greater access to the college living experience. With that in mind, here are some of the changes you may experience as you shift from living in a dorm to living in an apartment.
As a freshman, you are more than likely to start living in either Plunkett or MEP, depending on your gender. This is where the reality of being in college will likely set in. Here you are, in a whole new world surrounded by and living with total strangers. You’re likely to learn some life lessons, and become experienced in the various walks of life people have to offer. Living in a dorm is the thing most people typically attribute their maturation at college towards, as there is just so much you become aware of. You’ll get into the rhythm of college life, and learn your own strengths and weaknesses as you live with other people. Not that you’ll become world weary or anything; you’ll just see, hear, and unfortunately smell a lot of things you had no idea about!
After your first year, you have the option to continue living in dorms, or you can choose to stay in an apartment. Be warned: the transition to apartments is not as simple as you think it might be! For one, there isn’t the same completely open and communal nature surrounding the apartments. While you still have RA’s and events to hang out with people, the apartments don’t have a lot of other rooms expect the living areas themselves. Not to say that people living in the apartments are less friendly or open, it’s just the limitations of the buildings themselves. Another possible drawback to living in the apartments involves taking care of yourself completely. Depending on how you choose to room in the apartments, you can live by yourself or with roommates, like in the dorms. Whichever you decide, you must be able to clean and feed yourself. With the apartments having built-in kitchens, it may be tempting to just rely on cooking food for yourself. While not impossible, it’s important to understand that if you feed yourself, you must also stay on top of keeping things clean, and realize the amount of work it takes to feed yourself daily. Having a smaller meal plan can help ease the load. As for which method of living is the best, it’s really just a matter of preference.
The dorms are more open and accessible, but also more noisy and hectic. Living in the apartments is quieter and more self-reliant, but they are a good distance away from the majority of campus. While neither living arrangement is negative, you may find based on your own preferences which one you prefer. On that note, living by yourself and living with roommates may also factor into your decision. Remember, even the best of friends can get into fights, especially over cleaning your living area. If you and your roommates can get along and share responsibility, then by all means room with your friends. But if you don’t feel like that can happen, or you just prefer living by yourself, then you can get a room for one.
Just remember, the responsibility is on you no matter where you live, even more so if you are by yourself. Transitions in where you live, while they may not seem important, factor into your growth as an adult. Remember, after a few years, you’ll be on your own in the world, making your own decisions and maintaining your own responsibilities. Taking care of yourself is critical in the world, and where and how you live will greatly affect your future as an adult.