As an incoming sophomore, I was super excited about the opportunity to live in the newest building on campus, Chestnut Square. I moved in the Friday before classes began, so by now the excitement of moving in, re-organizing a new room that’s all my own and meeting my new suite-mates is over. It’s finally settling in for my three roommates and I that this is our new home for the next twelve months. As we all got to know each other, we all came to a somewhat startling realization: it’s really weird to not be in a dorm anymore! Keeping your door open isn’t as accepted, cooking for yourself in your own kitchen is the norm, and staying in your apartment is the preferred thing to do. Our suite-style apartment also lacks the homey, cozy feel we once had in our crowded dorm rooms.
Let’s just say there are definitely some pros and cons to switching to apartment life!
Pro: Strengthening existing friendships. It’s much easier to invite friends over for a dinner party or a movie when you have a living room with a great couch and room to seat everyone. I also have three other girls to chat with or eat a meal with that doesn’t require planning around schedules.
Con: An open door policy isn’t very effective. In an apartment, you aren’t going to leave your door open to your home if you’re hanging out in your room with the door closed. Stranger Danger anyone? Making new friends in the building will have to come about some other way. I guess that’s why we have a pool table?
Pro: More meal independence… No more reliance on the Hans or Northside for those extremely um… nutritious food options. I can keep actual meals in my fridge along with milk, fruit and veggies, iced tea, sandwich components and anything else, as long as it doesn’t take up too much room. I’m not afraid to make too much food or bring leftovers back that will barely fit inside the dorm-regulated mini-fridge
Con: …But you actually have to cook for yourself. Like I said, it is nice to have your own cooking opportunities. But once you realize you are required to look after yourself and you have no real excuse to buy pizza from Ed’s, it kind of shocks your system. If you want a friend to join you for dinner, you have to cook for both of you instead of buying your own meal from Northside and eating at a table. You also have to wash the dishes as opposed to just throwing away that sandwich wrapper from Subway.
Pro: So much more space than a dorm! I can keep my food in the kitchen now instead of under my bed! I can leave blankets on our couch instead of tossing them in the back of my closet! This new allowance of free space has me excited to spread out (not too much as to be overbearing on my suite-mates), but it’s nice to have that flexibility of where to store my belongings!
Con: More girls, less bathroom space. You no longer have three or four showers and toilets at your disposal. Instead you may be down to one shower for two girls, which means compromise is key! Just this morning my roommate hopped into the bathroom to take a shower for her 9:30am class before I could get in and get ready for my 9am job! Luckily I caught her just in time, so I just asked her to take a quicker shower than usual. We both made it on time today, but this situation can be avoided by a quick discussion of schedules between roomies! Sometimes that means waking up half an hour earlier than you had wanted, but hey, at least your hair looks good.Â
There are many more reasons why apartment life is and isn’t great. Roommates can make or break this transition, and so can your own attitude. Good luck to everyone with the new school year and their (possibly new) living arrangements!