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I honestly had no interest living in res first year. When I adopted a cat a couple of months before my first term started, it sealed the off-campus-living deal for me. I had no idea that off campus living involved so many changes, most of them being good.
Here are all the things I learned being off campus as a frosh:
1. You learn to grow up really fast.
I had to learn how to cook, clean and do the laundry all for myself because I lived alone and if these things didn’t get done by me, they weren’t going to get done.
2. You tend to be more social when you are at school.
Unlike in res, living in a building where students are scarce, it makes you have to make friends through your lectures, labs, tutorials and clubs. My best friends from first year either come from the clubs I joined on campus or through me talking to the person beside me in lectures.
3. Having your own space separate from campus can be a blessing.
I am someone who likes my personal space, so to be able to leave school after class and return to my own space off campus always felt like heaven. I could leave school at school instead of living it 24/7.
4. It gets pretty lonely living by yourself.
There were a lot of nights where I’d get lonely since my friends lived far away from me, so I’d end up calling my mom or friends at other universities to try to make me feel less lonely. Sometimes it was hard just having myself and my cat as company.
5. The Off Campus Office is an awesome place to make friends.
The dons there are all really nice and want to get to know you! They’ll help you with any questions you have about living on your own, and it also creates a community of frosh and their dons so you won’t feel lonely.
6. Everything will be okay.
Even if you can’t get the dishes and your homework done in one night, it’s okay because you’re young and still trying to figure everything out. The work/school/social life/self care balance is really hard to figure out. It takes practice and a lot of time, don’t sweat it too much!
Don’t worry First-years, you are all gonna kill it here at the University of Waterloo this fall. Good luck off campus warriors!