I love the fact that eight of my best friends and I all live together in one big suite. It’s pretty much a big slumber party with the nine of us, every single night. With the way that our rooms are split up, we have three girls in each room, forming three triples. These can get pretty crowded, making it necessary to have bunk beds in our rooms. And in an unfortunate series of events, I ended up on the top bunk.
For some people, this would be their bed of choice. You have your own secluded area up top that is completely removed from everyone else. Personally, this isn’t my preferential sleeping location. After living up there for a little more than a month, I’ve experienced some drawbacks that weren’t even in the realm of possibility when I agreed to take it. So before you do the same and volunteer yourself for this position, take a look at some of the consequences.
1. Not having an outlet conveniently placed near your bed.
Almost everyone does the same routine of sweeping through every social media app before falling asleep. But unfortunately, this isn’t possible when your outlet is on the ground and your mattress is way up in the air. Either you chalk up the loss, or you act like a badass like I do and use an ~illegal~ extension cord to reach your charger from your bed.
2. Hitting your head on the ceiling every morning when your alarm goes off.
Nothing wakes me up quicker than the feeling of my bed hitting the hard drywall above me. Unlike my roommates who have the privilege of waking up and stretching their arms out after their alarms go off, I have to army crawl over to the side of my bed to ensure my 5’4” self doesn’t hit the ceiling.
3. Waking up your roommate(s) every time you move.
The entire wooden construction of the bunk bed is so unstable that I feel as though it could collapse at any point in time. Therefore, whenever I wake up in middle of the night and roll over, the whole structure shakes and makes a noise loud enough to wake not one, but both of my roommates up. (Sorry!)
4. The near-impossible struggle of making your bed.
Unlike a regular bed on the ground, the mattresses of bunk beds are placed inside a wooden box to keep it in place. Therefore, I have to lift the mattress up and out of this box while simultaneously putting the fitted sheet on. (Keep in mind... I’m not that strong.) Imagine doing all of this while also standing on a ladder and trying to keep your balance. Not an easy feat.
5. Having guests stay over isn’t ideal.
Since I was lucky enough to be placed with housing on lower campus this year, I’m pretty much morally obligated to offer up my bed to any friends who were placed way up on CoRo. Sharing a twin-XL bed is already pretty tough on its own. So when you add in the factor that your bed is lofted way up in the air, it’s even harder to be a good host to anyone who wants to stay over. Sorry CoRo friends, but I’ll happily offer you up either of my roommates’ beds!
6. The ever-present fear that you’re going to roll off at any second and fall to your death.
You know those nightmares that you have where you feel like you’re continually falling and falling from a tall mountain or building? Well I have those, except it’s from off the top bunk. Sure, there’s a short little railing partly covering the side of the bed to prevent me from rolling off. But I have no faith in it whatsoever, and will most likely end up on the ground after taking a tumble one night.
7. Having to pee in the middle of the night.
The worst. That is all.
8. No one knowing you’re in the room because you’re tucked away up there.
When my roommates peep their heads in my room to say hi, they’ll look around and immediately close the door. And I’ll just be up there unnoticed, hanging out like a fly on the wall. Sometimes it can be nice to have your own space, but it’s not always fun to feel invisible.
9. Making it up to the top bunk when you come back late at night and aren’t feeling 100%.
When you come back to your room after a late night and aren’t feeling too well, the fact that you can’t just fall down into your bed and sleep is frustrating. In this case, you either need to muster up the courage to climb yourself up, or just have really good roommates who let you crash in their beds instead. (Hailey, if you’re reading this… thanks!)
10. Nothing is just an arms-reach away.
Whenever I read in my bed, I can’t just place my book to the side when I get tired and want to sleep. If I wake up after a night out and desperately need a water bottle, I can’t just reach under my bed and grab one. Nothing is accessible or convenient. Therefore, I have to constantly ask my roommates to hoist stuff up to me because I’m far too lazy to trek downwards and get it myself.
11. Naps aren’t just a quick ordeal anymore.
If I need to lie down in middle of the day, you’ll find me on the couches in our common room rather than my bed. Because the thought of me having to go all the way up there and back down again knocks a solid two minutes off my nap, and I can’t stand for that. Nap time is just too precious.
12. When your phone falls from the top bunk and you’re convinced it breaks every single time.
I’m not really sure how it happens, but my phone manages to find its way from my top bunk to the bottom on the floor at least twice a week. Every single time, I go through the same routine of having a mini heart attack, booking it down from the top bunk, and flipping it over to see if the screen is cracked. I’ve been lucky so far, so fingers crossed that I didn’t just jinx it.
