The initial transition from high school to college can be pretty scary to grasp. There are so many changes, and they all just happen to be occurring at the same time. When I took my first steps on campus, a million different thoughts raced through my mind. I was worried about finding the right friends, having difficult classes, as well as the idea of downsizing to a dorm room. Public bathrooms and minimal closet space are definitely not it — and little did I know, the tiny dorm room would lead to major issues. Here’s what it’s like to live in what my roommate and I have come to know as the worst dorm on campus.
When my roommate and I found out we were put in the Lakeshore dorms, we weren’t too upset. Although it wasn’t high on our list, we knew we could make the most out of any situation. Plus, the view of Lake Mendota through our window was pretty hard to beat. However, the problems in our dorm room started before I even made it to campus. My roommate moved in four days earlier than me and had to brave a bug infestation on her own. She FaceTimed me panicking as spiders and lake flies filled our entire dorm. I wish this was an exaggeration, but I had never seen so many bugs. I sat and listened as my roommate told me she had killed a total of fifteen huge spiders throughout the day. It was official — I was terrified to move into our dorm.
By the time I made it to our already infamous dorm room, the problem had apparently been “fixed.” By fixed, I mean that the bugs were vacuumed up and the windows that they were coming in from had been covered with yellow tape and bug spray. Therefore, it didn’t come as a huge surprise when problems kept occurring. It was impossible to keep our window open for more than five minutes with all the bugs, so our room was unbearably hot. Sleeping under the covers was not an option, and every single morning we would wake up with heat rashes and spider bites. At this point, we were furious and insisted that something must be done. However, our already unmanageable dorm room continued to get worse.
You’re probably thinking, “what could be worse than flies, gigantic spiders, and extreme heat interfering with our everyday lives?” We were wondering the exact same thing — that is, until the ants came. We came back to our room one night to find ants covering our carpet. It was to the point where one step on the floor would result in a swarm of ants all over our socks. In a panic, we again called to have the problem fixed, yet the only solution was for us to vacuum the ants up. Day after day our dorm was faced with problems, but it seemed the best help we could get was a temporary solution.
I wish this story had a happy ending, but unfortunately, my roommate and I are still stuck in the bug infested, hot dorm room. Although it is definitely not the most ideal living situation, we are doing our best to make the most out of it. We can rest knowing that if any new problems arise, we are basically exterminators at this point. If living in a dorm room has taught us one thing, it is to appreciate the comfort of your own home just a little bit more — or how to kill bugs, same thing.