Traditional dorms are quickly losing their places on college campuses to the rising apartment style suites that are becoming more popular. Anyone deciding to go away to college pictures living in a room by themselves with a private bathroom, but that rarely happens unless you want to pay more for room and board than your actual tuition. I had to live in a communal dorm my freshman year and it was one of the best decisions of my life -- I cannot stress that enough. Even though I had to share one small room with another person and a communal bathroom with over 40 other girls, it was an experience that I will cherish forever. These are the reasons you should choose to live in a traditional dorm freshman year of college.
1. There is an entire community under one roof.
Move-in day is hectic and stressful, but there is nothing like propping your door open while the entire floor moves in because it's a great way to make friends. You may get overwhelmed at first, but I promise you will make so many amazing memories that you won’t second guess where you chose to live.
Whether you are at a floor meeting or a fire drill, the girls and or guys on the floor you live on will be one pack ready to take on the world. It is kind of like having 40 new brothers or sisters that you learn to love even though you may occasionally get on each other’s nerves.
A big thing in traditional dorms is putting white boards on your door so that whoever walks by may leave a message, some digits or even an invite to a party. That is something that I will always cherish because everyone was so comfortable with each other in my dorm and we were all just friends looking to make more new friends.
2. Communal bathrooms are where you meet your best friends.
I met one of my best friends at college in the bathroom at 2 a.m. the first Friday during silly (syllabus) week. She had just gotten back from going out with her friends and I was doing the same. Ever since that night where we both laughed hysterically at each other for five minutes as we brushed our teeth, we have done the same thing to this day when we cross paths, whether it be in the bathroom or just on campus. I couldn’t be happier to have those moments with her.
3. It teaches you to have R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Since there is a communal bathroom that an entire floor has to share, whether it be all boys or all girls, it teaches you to have respect for your surroundings and not take for granted the bathroom you have all to yourself at home. My bathrooms had eight stalls and eight showers that the entire floor had to share. Knowing that, both can obviously get dirty pretty fast; but fortunately, they are cleaned once per day. That makes life so much easier, but since a very kind individual cleans these bathrooms on his or her own, it's important to be mindful of how you treat the bathroom. Not only should you respect the cleaning staff, but also your floor mates because everyone uses the bathrooms for the same reason and no one wants to deal with gross people -- trust me.
4. You learn how to do laundry in record time.
Not every floor will have a laundry room on it, so be sure to find where they are and when the least popular time to do laundry is. I suggest a Friday afternoon because everyone is worried about weekend plans so the machines will be empty -- I promise. Since there are only so many machines and hundreds of other students in these dorms, it's best to set a timer to remind you when your wash is done, because there will be no shame when someone takes your clothes out of the washer or dryer and moves them elsewhere to do their own laundry (I learned that the hard way). On the other hand I have moved plenty of loads of wash because I am way too impatient to wait over an hour for someone to come get their clothes.
5. Most traditional dorms have dining halls attached to them!
OK, so if you are lucky (like I was), there may be a dining hall attached to the dorm. In my case, there was one right downstairs. It allowed me to be lazier than I would like to admit, but I never had to leave the building on Sundays, and that was amazing. When you have a dining hall attached to your dorm, your friends who have to walk across campus to get there will be very jealous and you will be so happy you chose that dorm, no doubt.
6. You get to continue a legacy.
Most traditional dorms were built ages ago. In my case, my dorm was built in 1965. That is 51 years of freshmen living in the same room and walking the same halls that I spent nine months in. That amazes me to this day. You can be apart of a legacy, just like I was. The memories you make in a traditional-style dorm are ones that no person who lives in a suite-style or apartment-style can compare to.
7. You learn how to improvise.
Having only a 15 by 20 foot room, that you have to share with another person, teaches you how to adapt and improvise like never before. Don’t worry, though -- in no time you will make that room into an amazing getaway that reflects your personality and makes you comfortable enough to survive the next nine months. Having a room that you are proud of showing your friends and that you can learn to call “home” (just temporarily) will allow you to be more successful than you ever could have imagined, and I can confirm that.
8. You learn not to take anything for granted.
If there is one thing I learned my freshman year, I would definitely say that I learned to appreciate and not take for granted the things that I have. Let me explain. At home, your parents cook for you, do your laundry and sometimes even clean your room if you put it off for too long. None of these things happen when you are in college and I am glad that I had to become independent, especially living in a traditional-style dorm my freshman year.
You do not have a kitchen in your dorm and you have to share a bathroom with many other girls. I will forever be grateful that I have my own bathroom at home and for the home-cooked meals that my mom makes for me when I am home from college. Going a year without some of these things really made me extra grateful for what I have at home; it also prepared me to become more independent and it sure taught me a lot.
9. It is the true college experience that everyone needs.
Coming into my freshman year, I was incredibly nervous about what lied ahead. I was more nervous about the living situation than my actual classes. I had never had to share a room before, and I went from that to living in such close quarters with a stranger for nine months. Even though that does not sound like the ideal situation, I am beyond grateful for the experience that I had, the endless friends I met and the memories that I made.
10. Lastly.
Please just remember that, whatever choice you make when it comes to living arrangements, even though you may be uncomfortable or not in the most ideal situation, you should still make the best of it. Freshman year flies by so fast. You don’t want to waste any of your time wishing you could change something about it. College is about growing up, gaining independence and getting out of your comfort zone. If I could give any advice to an incoming college freshman, it would be to choose to live in a traditional dorm -- that's if you really want the college experience that everyone deserves to have.
