No one really wants to live in a dorm. If you're a high school senior who's graduating soon, you've probably heard horror stories about dorms. They aren't the best thing in the world, but it's an experience I'd never want to trade.
1. You really do meet so many people.
If you're anything like me, you're going off to school knowing absolutely no one. Living in a dorm, you'll meet more people in the first few weeks just in the hallway than you will for the rest of the year. Chances are everyone else is in the same position you are: they just want to make friends.
2. Your freshman year roommate will always be a friendly face.
Whether you went random or found each other on the incoming class Facebook page, you never forget your first roommate. You'll stick to each other like glue for the first week or two, and maybe you'll be best friends. Maybe you won't. And that's okay. They'll always be there to grab food, or listen to you rant about your day.
3. You'll learn to fit a lot in a really small space.
Back home, you had your own room with a big closet and a dresser. In a dorm, you have four drawers and a closet big enough to fit maybe 10 shirts. You have to get really creative to find ways to fit all your stuff into a 12x19 foot space that you're sharing with someone else. It'll teach you to be more organized on the bright side. Just think of it as practice for your first tiny city apartment after you graduate.
4. The horror stories are so rare.
Everyone will have one or two bad stories, but the really awful ones rarely happen. You probably won't end up with a psycho roommate who steals your clothes, or neighbors who blast music at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday.
5. You learn how to deal with people.
You aren't living with your family anymore. You can't yell at your roommate for hogging the mirror and have them still like you later. They aren't your siblings. Someone will at some point be taking an hour-long shower in the only stall with hot water that day. It'll be OK. Dealing with people is a real world skill you have to learn, and there's no better place to do it than a dorm.
