After a long day of classes, the gym, and lots and lots of homework, all I want to do is shower. A nice, hot, long shower. Maybe I’ll even blast some Lizzy McAlpine and really get in my feelings and perform all sorts of conversations in the shower that will never actually happen in real life. Shower maladaptive daydreaming is the perfect way to end this long day on campus. So after scanning my ID at the door and walking up the longest two flights of stairs of my life, I enter my one room, which I share with my roommate, and am greeted by a locked bathroom door and my long, hot shower running for someone else. Nothing is worse than this.Â
Living in a dorm room is filled with so many pros and cons. Let’s knock the pros out of the way: my roommate. It’s so amazing to be best friends with your roommate, as you literally sleep about 1.5 feet away from them. I live in a balcony-style dorm with two suite-mates that we share a bathroom with, so we are in very tight quarters. It’s amazing to have someone to go on grocery runs at 9 pm with you and to microwave your 4th quesadilla of the day with. My roommate is truly the highlight of my dorm experience. Another pro is how nice it is to live on campus. I can roll out of bed 10 minutes before my morning class and still arrive on time (mostly).Â
However, there are some true cons to living in a dorm on campus. As much as I love the experience, a fire alarm at 1 am on Sunday is not one of the things I love. In my dorm, we have now had six fire alarms go off, all from horrific microwaving incidents. One of which was from a mac-and-cheese cup that someone forgot to put water in. So, we stand outside on a cold Sunday night before classes, the police officers come and the fire trucks blare, just to be told by the policeman himself, “y’all really need to learn how to microwave.”
Another con is how much dust can physically accumulate in a matter of seconds. I even bought an air purifier because the multitude of “Must Needs for College (Things You Will Die Without)” TikToks I have saved told me it would suck all the dust up. Let me save you the trouble: no matter how much you sweep, mop, and air purify your room, dust will always be there.
Another con is the creatures that enter your room. We have had two cockroaches. Two. We still walk into our bathroom holding a Swiffer in case a cockroach decides to appear while we are in the shower. My friends have encountered a hoard of fire ants making an ecosystem in their walls. Another friend met a silverfish that was in his laundry basket. Living in a dorm is all fun and games until you start having uninvited guests like these ones.Â
Despite all of this, I wouldn’t replace living in a dorm for the world. It truly is like the movies in all the best and worst ways. I love wearing my roommate’s gigantic laundry backpack and hiking downstairs to do our laundry together. I love sleeping on my twin-sized bed that literally has a piece of plywood under it. I love my mini-fridge that has a freezer that can’t freeze water. I truly love it all. So the secret life in a dorm room is definitely a challenge, but it’s the best challenge I’ve ever had to face.