It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the time for making memories you never want to forget and the time you probably would be okay if some of these memories were never repeated. Regardless of your background, dorm life is something crazy, adventurous, and unforgettable all freshmen should experience.
From having a built in best friend that doubles as an outfit critic to optimal location, here are some of the greatest pro’s of dorm life:
The People
-They’re not kidding when they say keeping an open door and an open mind is the best way to make friends in college. In dorm style living where everything is accessible via hallway, keeping your door open is the greatest way to make new friends. Every dorm is full of people from all walks of life, so it’s guaranteed you will find someone with common interests as you. The friends I have made in the dorms will remain some of my closest friends for the remainder of college and into my adult life, and I’m forever grateful that the dorm we were in brought us together.
The Convenience
-Location, location, location. Go to any college and I can pretty much guarantee you that \all the dorms and residence halls will be on campus. Then find all the university recreation and fitness centers and the university dining locations and I can almost guarantee those will be on campus as well. In comparison, residence halls are so much closer to basically EVERYTHING than off campus housing, so take advantage! Before you live 6 blocks off campus and the trek to class is almost unbearable, get that extra workout in or try everything the dining options have to offer because it’s so unbelievably convenient!
Study Buddies Everywhere
-Since we’re all pretty new to this whole college thing, it’s very likely a lot of people in your building will be in the same general education courses as you. Take advantage of this as well! A lot of buildings offer a study or common room available for students to use, which can be the perfect place to get work done without ever heading to the library (especially in this cold). Feeding off people’s interpretations of classes when studying together makes me a more well-rounded student, and can often point out ideas or notes I didn’t pick up before. You’re guaranteed to have at least one person from your building in some of your larger general education courses so take advantage! It’s the perfect reason to make a friend and excuse to get coffee.
But unfortunately with every pro comes a con, and sadly the dorm life is not as glamorous as Legally Blonde made it look.
The Bathrooms
-Whether the bathrooms are communal or pod style, it’s likely you’re going to have a face a shower covered in someone else’s hair or a sink thats full of “honestly who knows what that is”. Unfortunately that’s a part of the deal no one is exempt from. However, creating clean habits for yourself will only enforce others on your floor to do the same, plus you’ll never get blamed for trashing the bathroom. So always make sure your hair is out of the shower before you leave, the sinks are rinsed out after you’ve used them, and hopefully you didn’t totally flood the floor from your shower. OH YEAH and always wear shower shoes.
The Washer/ Dryer machines
-For a lot of people, college is the first time they’ve ever had laundering responsibility. For a lot of buildings, the machines are pretty outdated and can often leave your clothes really damp (and in need of another painful $1.50 dry), or get so hot your clothes burn. Don’t be a stressed out laundry newbie with loads of soaking wet and burnt clothing and make sure to wash everything on a delicate cycle! By putting it on delicate the machine doesn’t get too hot or spin too much and preserves the condition of your clothes the best.
Occasional Stir-Craziness
-For me, living in a 12 x 14 room for 8 months out of the year has driven me to small levels of insanity from time to time. For anyone who even has the slightest of wondering and independent qualities like myself, you’ll understand how frustrating this lack of space can be especially when trying to concentrate. However, sometimes even the smallest of changes can help make the space seem not nearly as suffocating. Rearranging the furniture, adding lots of fun things to the walls like posters and pictures, and increasing the amount of light in the room can and will help a lot.
Although it isn’t as cosmopolitain as it portrayed in TV shows or movies, the dorm lifestyle is anything but boring, and it goes by incredibly fast. I am still in awe that the year will be over in a few short months and classes for the following year will start soon after. So take the good with the bad and embrace every bad laundry cycle, all night study cram session, and frequent pizza order. There will one day come a time one day when you’ll want nothing more but to live in a dorm again where your biggest problem is a little hair in the shower, so be sure to love every single moment.