Living in Residence

Residence. You always hear stories about the loud, wild and crazy environment that college residences create. You hear horror stories about the noise levels, the horrible food, the roommate from hell, the minuscule bedrooms, and sharing a laundry room and bathroom with hundreds of other strangers.

That’s exactly what I was expecting and trying to prepare myself for when I moved into my new home my first year of college. I was living in a suite style apartment, 6 girls living together in a confined space for 8 months? Let the Drama begin!

But I went with an open mind. Regardless of the horror stories I had been told by other people, I was still looking forward to starting this new chapter in life. What I found out was this: People were partying, or in the common room watching movies until you got up for class the next morning, the cafeterias closed way too early, and the food tasted like the cardboard box it came in! There were endless fights with roommates on whose turn it was to do the dishes or to take out the garbage, half the stuff that was brought to decorate and fill up the room didn't even fit, and there never seemed to be an empty washing machine or dryer. Every story of the shortcomings of college that I had heard were coming true.

But the thing was … I loved every minute of it. You didn’t mind that people were up until 5 in the morning because half the time you were out there with them, and the other half the time you were so tired you would sleep right through the noise. It didn’t matter about the food because you had fun experimenting with your roommates with new recipes. You still liked your roommates and even though you may have disagreed on dish/garbage duty, you recognized that they were in the same position you were in, so they became instant friends, quite possibly for life. That tiny bedroom became a haven, as the perfect set-up and places for things was worked out, and it became apparent that either the middle of the day or the middle of the night were perfect times for getting a free laundry machine.

Starting college can be crazy and scary, but it doesn’t have to be. An open mind is all you need. Learning the tricks to living in residence is only a small part of the whole experience; you will never be this age or in this spot again, so relax and just enjoy it. And don’t let the horror stories get you down.