I had all these notions in my head about what moving into an apartment for the first time would be like. I would live with all my close friends, I would have more freedom, I would finally get to be independent and find out what I wanted for my college experience. In some ways I was right.
Driving up the first day, it didn’t even register in my mind that I would be living alone. Not completely alone, but on my own. At first, it was somewhat jarring to get in my car, leave my home of 4 years and just move on like that.
And if we’re being completely transparent, I’m not sure if that feeling has gone away quite yet. I’m only a few weeks into what is supposed to be the next three years of my college life and I feel completely overwhelmed. The full-time switch to online classes, my new apartment responsibilities, living with new roommates and having my own car for the first time since high school has been the most stressful but rewarding change in my life to date.
To shed light on the true college apartment experience, I am here to gift you with true anecdotes from my life in an apartment so far:
“I think there’s a poltergeist living in our apartment.”
For the past few weeks of getting settled in, my roommates and I have collectively acquired countless badges from the apartment. By badges I mean lumps, cuts and bruises all over our bodies. Although I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for why we are getting hurt so often (like maybe the fact that we are all clumsy and Ikea furniture building is no joke), we play around with the idea that a ghost has invaded our new apartment.
Tip: Always keep bandages and a decent first aid kit on hand. If one thing is for sure, you will run into new problems and furniture while settling into a new space.
“Why is the ceiling sweating right now?”
It’s never a good sign to see droplets coming from your ceiling. Right around the corner of hurricane season in Florida is the perfect time to move into your new leaky apartment, right? Not for some of my friends. All apartments have some sort of maintenance staff to help fix utilities and furniture around the complex, but no one wants to get a lemon within the first week of school in a new place.
Tip: Do thorough research on the prospective apartment complexes in your desired area. Pictures can be somewhat misleading too. The best way to see what you are really paying for is to tour the complex in person to see what it’s all about. This might narrow the chances of getting into a negative situation in the future.
“I haven’t even gone anywhere except the grocery store and got COVID anyway.”
No one knew COVID was going to define an entirely new period in our world’s history, but here we are. Thankfully, I have been surrounded by people who are prepared and taking precautions to stay healthy during this worldwide pandemic.
Tip: In Tallahassee, there are many places you can go to get free COVID testing as a student and no insurance is required. For more local COVID testing information, click here.
At the end of the day, rain or shine, COVID or no COVID, ghost or no ghost, I survived. Although it’s only been a few weeks, I am so excited to see what college has to throw at me. Hopefully not COVID but as stressful as it’s been, I look forward to the future and all that’s to come in my new apartment.
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