At the start of any school year, life looks a little different than it did the year before. Maybe this is the first year that you have a roommate who isn’t your parents, or maybe this is the first year you are living somewhere other than your childhood home. I know both were true of my freshman year!
Now, it’s my sophomore year and once again, life looks a little different. I moved off campus and went from having one roommate to four, which, if you don’t have that many roommates, then let me tell you — that is a big change. And, as much as I hate to say it: Mom, you were right — there are some things that will never be the same after you move off campus.
1. The distance is REAL
As a freshman, I had a pretty good appreciation for how close I was to everything; the Reitz was a two minute bike ride, and Gator Dining was a manageable walk. When I made the decision to move off campus, this was the only thing I was hesitant to leave behind. RIP Springs 202.
2. Not having to drive around the hundreds of parking lots on campus to find parking
Living off campus means having to drive back to UF for events, aka I have to leave the house at least half an hour earlier then when I need to be there. Chances are, even when I do find a spot, I’m still walking half way across campus to get to my meeting or late-night exam. When you live on campus you can be out late and all over campus because you can just bike or scoot to your dorm at your own leisure. I wish I took advantage of that more.
3. Taking the RTS busses around campus
At my current place, there is no bus route even remotely close to my home. So, now I bike into class every day. Don’t get me wrong, biking isn’t that bad or far, but I will forever miss the ease of quite literally rolling out of bed, grabbing my bag and walking across the street to pick up the bus. If you do live on campus, just don’t be like me (extremely lazy) and wait until your second semester to figure out the bus system- just download the Rider app.
4. Waking up just in time to make it to class
Speaking of rolling out of bed, I will no longer be able to wake up at 9:15 for a 9:30 class and still make it. There were some days -when I lived on campus- where I would walk into class right on time having just woken up 10 or 15 minutes beforehand. Man, what’s that like, again? I miss it.
5. CLEAN BATHROOMS
Listen up, long gone are the days that once upon a week a nice housekeeper will come in and clean your bathroom for you. Now my roommates and I are stuck with cleaning our bathrooms by ourselves and that’s when we do remember to clean it. And you can’t judge me because I bet you miss having someone clean your bathroom for you, too. I really took this one for granted. For everyone living on campus right now: Please enjoy it while you can!
6. Bills
I know that everything I’m paying bills for right now was covered in my cost of living in the dorms, but being face-to-face with paying bills is way scarier. Having to get slapped with a huge electricity and WiFi bill is more “adult” than I will ever want to be. Like, ever.
7. Naps were actually plausible
Living on campus, any free time you have that’s over an hour means you can easily go back to your dorm and take a nap. But now when I leave in the morning for class, I’m on campus doing things until I come home for the day. Sometimes that means I’m on campus from 8:30 AM to 7 PM, and on those days, there is nothing I want more than a nap. Granted, there are some good places for naps on UF’s campus- and if you have not found some then I suggest doing that ASAP- but once you move off campus you will never have the luxury of running back home for a quick nap.
8. Dishes
When you live in a dorm, you have the dreaded floor-shared kitchen that you probably only use in rare instances. My roommate and I probably had four plates, two bowls, a frying pan and a single pot collectively. With so little things to clean, we barely had to do dishes. But now? Now at any time of the day, there is at least one unclean dish in our sink waiting to be washed. Count your blessings– sometimes that even means Gator Dining.
9. The constant noise
Being in a huge building with hundreds of other college students leads to a lot of noise. And I never thought I would say this, but I miss it. In the dorms, I slept right next to the window that overlooked the entrance into our building. That door would open and close all the time, and naturally I grew accustomed to it. Now, my room is completely dark and just a little too quiet.
10. Finally, I simply miss all the weird things about living in a dorm
If only I could remember and share all the weird things that my roommate and I went through, experienced or saw last year living on campus. But I can leave you with this story: one time last year my roommate and I spotted two or three crushed up pickles outside the door into the dorm. It took like three days for them to finally disappear. Man, living on campus is a weird time.
Living on campus is such a freeing time, where you get to experience the total college lifestyle. Too often I think I missed out on fully appreciating what I had until it was gone. Life — and your college experience — goes on, but there will always be a special place in my heart for my time spent living on campus, and I hope there’s a spot in yours, too!
What do you love or miss about living in the dorms? Let us know in the comments!