Everyone has their bad habits at home, whether its a messy room or knowing that someone else will clean for you. All of that changes the second you get to college.
Living with a roommate is something that I personally have never done, growing up as an only child. After being here for nearly three weeks, I can say that it really is not that bad. But moving into this dorm did make me grow up and change my bad habits because my mom isn’t here to pick up after me or tell me to clean my room. My mom would always tell me that my room looked like an avalanche.
At first I thought that my room would be super messy because that was how I always managed to leave my room at home, but I’ve worked out a routine. I wake up in the morning, make my bed (yes, with all nine of my pillows), and then I’ll start my day. Every week I disinfect the door handle, wipe down the mirror, and sweep the floor. With everyone coming to hang out in my room all the time, I don’t want my friends to see me with a messy room.
Of course I didn’t magically become a germaphobe when I got to college, however, keeping everything clean and organized helps me think and process the long lectures and hours of homework that I have every day. Still not a germaphobe, but trust me, I use hand sanitizer at least ten times a day because I do not need to be sick in bed and missing out on all of the cool activities and events happening on campus.
Only living an hour from campus is a strange feeling because in high school I did camps here and I visited all the time, so when my parents left on move-in day I felt like they would be coming back and bringing me home within a few days. After about five hours, I realized that wasn’t true and that I needed to learn how to live on my own.
So, I finished setting up my room and I started to make friends, and by the time we all went to bed I didn't feel so overwhelmed.
Now I have a routine going, class in the mornings and then homework and hanging out at night. I learned how to use the laundry room, which was not exactly the most convenient task, and now I do my laundry on Friday mornings before class. I quickly learned that I’m not going to be able to do everything that I want to do, so I made decisions and worked out a great schedule for myself. I utilize the down time that I have while my friends are in classes, especially for studying.
College isn’t as daunting as it seems as long as you make a routine for yourself and stick to it. It gets difficult when you let yourself go or you assume that your parents will be there to pick up the mess you made like they were when you were in high school. Professors won’t accept a note from your parent saying you were “sick” and couldn’t make it to class, they’ll just dock your participation credit, which trust me you will need in the long run.
Oh, and heads up, we all stay up till 3 a.m. here.