Being a freshman in a dorm room has its perks. You get to live close to (hopefully) great roommates, there's always something going on, and you likely get way more independence than you do at home. But coming back to your cramped dorm after a long month home at your parents' house can be a shock. If you got too comfortable with your cozy room, home-cooked meals, and unlimited access to a car during winter break, you know the struggle of returning to student housing. Here are some of the things that you probably weren't looking forward to when returning to that lovely dorm.
1. Mini-fridge
The hardest goodbye when moving back into a dorm room is the spacious, normal kitchen-sized fridge at home. It has everything: a full freezer, drawers for different food groups, and even an ice machine and water dispenser. Your dorm's mini-fridge just can't compete. And then there's the 90% chance that you didn't empty everything out before you unplugged it, meaning it smells completely awful when you get back to school.
2. No candles
This can be heartbreaking. All of the perfectly chosen, deliciously scented candles that you've accumulated throughout your life have to stay behind. Even the ones that you got as gifts. Sure, you know that you could try to get around the open flame ban and burn those candles anyway, but worrying about extremely sensitive fire detectors and the threat of an actual fire really takes away from the intended ambiance.
3. Lack of storage space
All of the cool gifts you got for Christmas and clothes you bought shopping over break? Surprise! They don't fit anywhere in your dorm! Your closet is jammed full and all the neat storage spaces you bought at Target are filled. Yes, there are probably some things that you could get rid of, but that would require actually cleaning and organizing your room. Instead, you'll probably just let everything pile up until the end of the year.
4. Communal bathrooms
The grossest and most dreaded part of living in the dorms are the communal bathrooms. Your shower sandals have made a comeback and you're stuck once again with the dilemma of choosing between the shower with no hot water and the shower with no water pressure. Just hope no one flushes while you're shampooing.
5. Lofted beds
There is no struggle as great as having to pee in the middle of the night when you sleep in a lofted bed. On top of that, the temperature is always twenty degrees hotter in bed than it is on the floor (because hot air rises and stuff?) It's hard finding the right pajamas when you don't know what the weather is going to be like once you get up that ladder. And you already know that making your bed just isn't going to happen.
6. Doing your own laundry
You were spoiled for the past month. All you had to do was wear clothes and then put them in the hamper. You didn't have to question whether you should keep something in case you wanted to re-wear it before washing. You didn't have to worry about how you would get that ketchup stain out of your favorite white shirt. All because you had an angel of a parent doing your laundry for you. But that all ends now. You're back to waiting an hour for a washing machine and fighting to claim dryers because you ran out of underwear and literally have no clean clothes left.
7. Dining hall food
Nothing drains the spirit more than eating mystery meat and iceberg lettuce for every meal. The choice between walking to the dining hall for gross food or spending money on pizza delivery is a daily challenge.
