If you have been at Kentucky for longer than a month and don't live under a rock, then chances are you’ve heard about State Street. It's the magical place where dreams come true and the party never ends. I have the good fortune of living on State Street and can say that it has exceeded my expectations in many ways — I have come across some things that I never thought about. So for all those who are potentially moving here or just want to hear about the struggles I deal with here every day here are the eight things to expect while living on State Street.
This is a fact that you must come to terms with on the first day you move in. It doesn't matter how many times you mop or how many Febreze combinations you use, the floors will still be dirty and that unknown smell will still linger. Even after hours of cleaning, you will still find a pile of empty beer cans and trash scattered around not even five minutes later. Nobody knows where it comes from, but nonetheless it will be there. Eventually there is just nothing left to do about the mess, so you chalk it up as a loss and move on.
2. There will be people in your house
There's always people at your house Thursday through Saturday. Having friends around is always a positive, but sometimes you walk in and you don't even know the person playing cards in your room. Chances are, you probably didn't invite half of these people over and don’t know who they are, but they still come.
Oh you were my roommate’s sister’s ex-boyfriend? Yeah bro, come on over and eat our food! You invited the homeless guy who sells drugs out of the train? Perfect, tell him he can crash on the couch. I’m not even joking when I say three girls came into my house to play with my roommate’s puppy (Kobe), and we kicked them out after we huddled up and realized nobody knew who they were.
3. The living room couch is the community bed
I’ll just give you an example — right now, as I am writing, it is noon on a Sunday. And there are two people crashed in my living room.
4. Things will be stolen from you. Things will be stolen and brought to you
Being on State Street means you are in the middle of a lot of foot traffic. Friends stopping by just to make plans or to make a pit stop going back-and-forth between parties. I love living with an open door and having friends come and go, but the problem is that I lose all my stuff.
I have given out countless lighters, clothes, phone chargers, etc. and have never seen them again. Somebody even took my ATO paddle from my room and called me the next week to tell me he found it under his bed. This will all test your patience, but the worst is when somebody takes something valuable from down the street and stashes it at your house without your knowledge. There is absolutely no way to look innocent while trying to explain to your neighbor how his bike ended up on your back porch without your involvement.
5 . Things will be broken
The moment you hand your landlord the security deposit to sign the lease, you know you are never going to see that money again. I live with seven reckless humans who have a propensity for doing stupid things. As a result there will be damages to the house. The funny thing is how you get these damages. A few of my favorites: My bedroom doorframe is completely off the wall; I called my roommate a dirty (expletive) and he trucked through my door trying to catch me.
There are dents in our fridge from people punching it trying to make a “rainbow of knuckles.” This also ended in a hand surgery for my roomie. Also, for a week we had to enter the upstairs through a side window, not because the door handle didn't work, but the handle was completely broken off after a New Year's party. This is all in addition to the casual holes in the wall and broken windows that you see in most houses on State Street, but that’s nothing that a little duct tape and strategic poster hanging can’t fix.
6. Appreciate the little things
---A Kanye West gif followed by a line that says "Appreciate the little things"? Nice use of subtle irony Matos, you're killing this writing stuff.---- Back to topic...
In most places, if you make a mess on your table or spill something on the floor, you get a paper towel to wipe it up and throw it away. On State street, or at least at my house, it’s not that simple. After making a mess, you already know that there are no paper towels to be found in the house. So you have to make the decision to clean it or leave the mess. You think to yourself. “This will probably smell or get moldy if I leave it out, so I should probably do something about this.”
After coming to this conclusion, you have to decide how to clean it. “Use precious toilet paper? No, I’ll need that later. Maybe get the puppy to lick it up? No, he will probably die from eating off this counter. I should really just leave it and hope someone else gets it, no can’t do that again.” This is the constant struggle going on in your head. Luckily you have become resourceful over the semester, so you get the old oven-mitt tucked under the fridge and wipe it up with that. Small things like paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, phone chargers, Gatorade, cups and plates are all luxuries that must be appreciated while they are around.
7. The train
Everybody who lives on State or near it knows about the train. Every time it passes, the conductor gets some sick satisfaction by bellowing the horn for all to hear. It doesn't matter if it's noon or 5 a.m.; he will hit the horn to let you know the train is passing. Some of the benefits of Blue Lightning (trademark) are that it’s a great target to throw empty beer bottles at and it serves as a sort of highway for sketchy hobos. Pro Tip: make all efforts to avoid the train folk; if you've ever been in an encounter with one, you know why.
8. Great times will be had
Whether you live in a party house or your house just likes to party, there are memories to be made in time at college. Time has flown by my sophomore year, and it's crazy how much life changes from one week to the next. Living in my house has been a great experience for me, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. If you are thinking about getting a house in the State/University area, I would definitely recommend it. Whether it’s shenanigans on a Caturday or midnight vibes in the hot tub, you can’t go wrong.
