There's something so quintessential about living in a dorm to the college experience for me. I can't imagine my college education not being intertwined with roommates, shared bathrooms, swiping in and out of different buildings, and listening to people running around the halls at inappropriate hours. If you're at all nervous about striking out on your own and living away from home, I'm here to assure you that transitioning to a dorm is the perfect step away from home. Here are some of my favorite experiences living in the dorms and on my own.
When I think of my first year dorm, I think of many things, but mostly I think about the feeling I got stepping inside after the long walk up the hill from academics. Opening the door after a day of classes made me feel welcome and cozy. I lived in Manzi, at the top of campus, which mean many stairs between room and class, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Walking up the hill I would always get a bit sweaty and then too hot when I got inside, especially in winter with a warm coat on. But it was the feeling of coming home, and I adored the warm fairy lights we put up for light. The room was lit in a soft yellow glow that illumated an eclectic mix of decor and posters. I lived in a quad so there were 4 of us living together. We had hardly talked before meeting each other for the first time, but somehow we all just fit well together and even our taste in posters worked out. It felt like we had made it our own little space, and it was wonderful.
On our floor we had the tiniest dinky kitchen, but I have a very fond memory of getting home after midnight from a party and needing to babysit my friends for a bit before I could send them back to their rooms, so we decided to make pancakes. I had all the ingredients in my dorm so we snuck in as quietly as possible to grab the food and the pan and bowl and utentils. And then we hung out in the common room and tried not to be nosy while we made pancakes and hung out. It was a really fun time.
My sophomore year dorm was also in Manzi, this time a slightly larger room, and we had room to fit a couch! I again hung up my numerous fairy lights for a nice soft ambiance, though this time I had the experience to hand them in a more orderly pattern. We were on the first floor and people walking by on the path could see our lights and I was very proud that many people stoped to comment on how pretty our room was. We spend a while searching craigslist for the best couch and found a really nice brown suade loveseat. I roped one of my friends with a subaru to come pick it up with me, and we drove about 30 minutes to go get it from this very nice couple. They were charging $20 for it, but when they saw we were college kids they just gave it to us for free. it was a bit of an adventure fitting the couch into the subaru, but we managed to to it by taking the legs off an strapping it in tightly. It really made the room complete and fit perfectly. We also found a nice carpet off of amazon that was very soft but also such a magnet for crumbs. I really enjoyed that room.
Sophomore year one of my favorite memories was from the beginning of the year when we were all celebrating being back on campus and together with friends. I love to cook, and my building had just gotten the kitchens renovated, so I decided to have a little dinner with some of my friends. I made a white pesto pasta, with some exceptions to accommodate my gluten free and dairy free friends. Overall it was really fun and sweet to see everyone but also a little chaotic running around and trying to pull of dinner for everyone. When I finally got everything plated up and figured out with all headed back to my dorm and sat on a combination of the floor or the couch or desk chairs and caught up on our summers. It was a really good start to the year.
Now, I'm living in an apartment off campus and dealing with more responsibility for things like my own internet provider and paying the electric bill. Honestly, right out of high school as an 18 year old I think I would have been intimidated by living on my own in an apartment and taking on all that responsibility, but after taking those stepping stones of living on campus, I feel a lot more mature and able to branch out and continue growing on my own. I think living in the dorms was a really important and valuable experience for me, and I would not trade it for anything.