We’ve all watched those shows that showed dorm life as one big sleepover. Girls and boys living on the same floor, people making grilled cheese on iron boards, water slides going down the hallway and roommates staying up to all hours of the night swapping secrets and commenting on the perfect color coordination of their room. Like most things on television, this is a great exaggeration of what actually goes on in a dorm (although that grilled cheese idea sounds intriguing).
Here’s the reality: while girls and boys are technically separated by where they live, there are always people of both gender on a floor. Boyfriends, girlfriends, just friends, you will always be able to find people out and about.
A word of caution: don’t have your most personal conversations in the hallway. While the walls are pretty thick, the doors are paper thin. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up disgruntled to overzealous girls yelling at the top of their lungs, crying their eyes out, or talking to boyfriends on the phone about stuff that should not be discussed in a dorm hallway.
Another piece of information: while ‘quiet hours’ might be posted, they are neither followed nor enforced.
Communal bathrooms are perceived to be dirty and small, with people waiting in line for a shower stall or spot to fix their make-up. However, they’re actually not so bad. There’s only one time that I’ve ever waited for a shower. Because everyone is on different schedules, the bathroom is hardly ever full.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it’s inconvenient not having my own bathroom but it’s not so bad overall. Plus, they get cleaned every day.
Sharing a room isn’t as bad as it seems either. It is not required to get matching bed spreads, but that’s how some girls bond. Some roommates become best friends and do everything together, while others just respect each other’s space and stay out of their way in order to live without drama.
Now, this is an entirely different situation if you don’t get along with your roommate(s). It makes your living situation more uncomfortable, awkward, and makes you want to avoid your own room till the last moment. I am fortunate enough to have a roommate that I get along great with, but I have heard some very interesting stories.
Not all dorms are the traditional system always depicted. There are dorms with an apartment style layout that includes a living area and kitchen. Whether it’s a single or double room though, it’s pretty similar to a traditional in that you still have roommates (which you may like or not) and there are always people there.
Whether your experience has been positive or negative, I think that dorm life is an important part of college, especially for a freshman. It allows you to be close enough to what’s happening on campus and to meet new people who are all going through the same thing.
It’s like a rite of passage that initiates you into college life.
