Living in a dorm is a brand new and exciting experience! It may come with its downfalls at some points, but overall it is a great way to enter your freshman year of college. You get to live with a community of people who are similar to you and who all chose to attend the same school as you. The stages of grief are something that many of us are familiar with, and they have many similarities with the stages of living in a dorm. While they may start off not being that great, in the end you will come to love your dorm room!

Denial:

No… I’m not living completely on my own without my parents to do my laundry, or cook me meals, or remind me where to be and at what time! It’s totally okay! This isn’t a totally new situation that i’ve never been in before! I don’t miss my dog at all! After a while, you will hopefully transition out of these doubtful thoughts. But it’s really hard living in a dorm the first few days.

Anger:

Two words: Communal. Bathrooms. Some of the things you will see in those communal bathrooms are just disgusting, and you won’t be able to understand how someone could not understand that other people have to use that bathroom and don’t want to clean up after you! However, communal bathrooms are just part of the college experience, and honestly, would the experience be fully complete without it?

Bargaining:

“Does anyone have a printer I could borrow? I’ll give you a cupcake!” “Does anyone have a purple scantron? I’ll pay you back”. Anyone who lives in a dorm and has a floor group chat can understand this situation or anything along the lines of it. When you’re living with 30-50 other people on your floor, you’re bound to need a little help from one of them at one point or another! When your mom isn’t there to be able to help you with random things, at least one of your floor mates can!

Depression:

We all get a little homesick at some point, or even a little lonely. College is hard! You’re forced to be completely independent after relying on your parents or guardians for 18 years. It is totally okay to feel a little sad about this sometimes! Don’t worry, your family misses you too. And college will get easier once you adjust and get used to living on your own!

Acceptance:

At the end of the day, living in a dorm is fun! Maybe the actual living in the dorm part isn’t fun, but the experience is. You will meet so many new faces and make so many friends with the people who live around you. You will rely on each other from time to time. Although it is scary, it is an awesome time to branch out of your comfort zone. You are now officially an adult! At the end of the day, you’ve got to accept the fact that you live in a dorm and just make the most out of it.