Living off campus is great, especially if you have a nice apartment and awesome roommates. I’ve learned a lot of things during the two months I’ve been living in my apartment, most of them regarding money management and the best ways to keep things clean. However, there are some instances where the unexpected are bound to happen and it’s hard for many people to be prepared for such occurrences.

Last Sunday I woke up to a pounding on my door at seven in the morning. I was super disoriented and confused. Why am I being woken up at seven on a Sunday? Swinging my feet to the floor, I find after some splashing around, my entire room is submerged in two inches of water.

After a bit of swearing and a mini cry session, I walk out into the main room and find my housemates and neighbors who live on the other side of the apartment standing around half-dressed and grumpy. Guess what? The water heater exploded and now the building was flooded. My room got the worst of it, and all my things had to be moved out onto the front patio to dry and so we could suck up all the water. I swear I probably cried three or four times that day.

Thankfully, I have great roommates who helped keep up a positive attitude. I only had to throw away a few things. Unfortunately, all my vintage records got wet, and I have yet to sort them through and see if they still work. The apartment smells like mildew and there are probably close to two dozen flies hanging out and driving us all crazy, but nothing was seriously damaged and it could have been much worse.

Some things to consider for future apartment/house living: Flood insurance is a thing; it might be a good idea to get it. Before going to sleep at night, put your laptop and other electronics on your desk or dresser. When it comes to living in an apartment, your landlord’s job is to make sure nothing could negatively impact your well-being and health. A flood is not considered life-threatening or super dangerous, so don’t expect a refund or discount on your rent if you do get flooded. Lysol and fans are your new best friends. It’s okay to cry and be upset if something like this happens, but just remember you’ve got your gang and together you’ll all get through it and everything will be okay. Even now, almost a week later, we’re already coming up with jokes and conspiracy theories.

I think my best advice for anyone going through this in the future would be to not panic. Make the best of an unfortunate situation. It will be over before you know it and then it will be a funny story to tell people later down the road. I’m really lucky to have the friends I have because they knew how to handle my emotions that day and make it all feel like it was a funny situation that we’ll forget about sooner rather than later. Even though it felt like the end of the world, it wasn’t.