College is one of the most exciting points of our lives. It's a brand new chapter to explore, and it gives us a chance to make a name for ourselves while studying something we love. However, moving 600 miles away isn't exactly something I found myself able to prepare for- at least not in the social aspect. Sure, I was able to talk to my roommate, and I met one of my floormates on Facebook, but there were still another twenty-six strangers on my floor who I knew nothing about. I went in nearly completely blind. I had no friends who were attending the same university as me, and I had been thrown into a brand new city that I knew nothing about. Though it would have been nice, meeting people in advance wasn't exactly high on my list of priorities; I just wanted to figure out where my dorm actually was before I tried making connections.
We had the privilege of moving into our residence halls a week early for our freshman welcome week. Now that we've accomplished nearly three whole weeks of living in our dorms, we've all gotten a pretty good grasp on where things are around campus, and we've adjusted to our new living spaces. Personally, I've enjoyed the transition from living in the middle of Myrtle Beach to a gigantic dorm filled with strangers in Philly. However, I wanted to see how some of the other girls on my floor were adapting to their new lives in our residence hall, and what their opinions were on it.
To start off, what is your major?
Casey: I'm a bio major.
Chloe: Design and merchandising.
Lara: Art History.
What are some things you enjoy doing in the dorm during your spare time?
Casey: Watching Netflix in my bed.
Chloe: Homework, napping, and watching TV in the lounge.
Lara: I watch Netflix, hang out with the other girls in the lounge and do homework, and go to dinner with people on our floor.
Why did you choose to live in a dorm, rather than somewhere else?
Casey: I always felt like living in a dorm was more of the college experience.
Chloe: I feel like it’s definitely a way to make friends. I thought a traditional dorm would be better than a suite because it would be more open and easier to meet people.
Lara: I don’t really like the suite style of roommates; I feel like I would only be able to handle one roommate, and I like the tradional setup and having a community.
How would you compare living in a dorm to living at home?
Casey: It’s a lot smaller and you have a lot less privacy. Living in a dorm with a roommate is kinda good since you always have someone to talk to, but if I want “me-time", I can’t really do that.
Chloe: The bathroom is very different, and it’s kind of nice to have an RA because it's like a mom. It's like a sleepover every night.
Lara: You definitely don't have as much privacy, and that can be annoying at times when you want to do your own thing. I do like having a roommate because it's like having someone to come home to at the end of the day to hang out with.
When you first moved in, what were your hopes for our floor?
Casey: I hoped that as a floor we would be kind of close since everyone was new.
Chloe: I was hoping I would meet people that I would get along with, and we could have movie nights or slumber parties. Just people to have fun with, I guess.
Have you made a lot of friends through our floor?
Casey: I realized we all had different majors, so we’re all on very different schedules, so it’s kind of impossible to hang out.
Chloe: Mostly the girls next door, and some girls in our major
Lara: Yeah, I think so. Our door is always open, a lot of people come by so we get to see everybody.
Do you think dorm life has been a good social aspect in your life so far? Or has it been lacking?
Casey: I expected it to be more social, but the friends I’ve made on the floor is a good plus. Those are the friends I hang out with all the time.
Chloe: I always think everyone can be more social, because the more people, the merrier.
Lara: I think it’s pretty good. Our floor isn't as friendly as the other floors, but everyone has their own thing. I still see girls who live on our floor, but I still don't know their names.
Did you know anyone in our dorm before coming in? Or did you come in blind?
Casey: Just my roommate. I met her on facebook and started talking to her a couple months before college.
Chloe: I only knew my roommate. We come from the same area, so we had a mutual friend that hooked us up, and we met before we came.
Lara: I didn’t know anyone else on the floor except Taylor (another floormate), but I met my roomate on Facebook.
What have been your favorite and least favorite parts about dorm life?
Casey: My favorite part is having everything in one room- like my clothes, my food and my bed; it’s all in one compacted space. I would say the communal bathrooms are my least favorite thing.
Chloe: Least favorite is definitely the bathroom; I hate showering in there. My favorite part is hanging out with people 24/7, because I don't like being alone. I like having people around me all the time.
Lara: Favorite is probably having everyone close by. Like, my friends are just a walk away. The least favorites are the bathrooms and the cockroach that crawled out of our air conditioner.
Is there anything you would change about dorm life? Is there something in particular you would like more or less of?
Casey: I would like more group activities or bonding with the floor. I don’t really think I would want less of anything.
Chloe: I think we could do more activities, like decorating the lounge.
Lara: More floor events! We had an ice cream social; that was fun. If we had floor parties or all watched shows in the lounge, that would be cute.
Finally, what are your hopes for our floor for the rest of the year?
Casey: I hope everyone on the floor becomes really close! People say that people you meet in college could be your friends for a lifetime.
Chloe: I want to continue making friends and having people who it’s comfortable to come home to.
Lara: I really just want to be friendly with everyone on our floor. I want to at least know them.
