To The Future Residents of Maggie D:
Right now, you are all getting ready for one of the most exciting years of your life - your freshman year of college. You have probably been assigned your roommate, and you're texting back and forth trying to figure out how you want to organize your room. You are so excited but incredibly nervous at the same time, and all you can talk about to your friends and family is your upcoming year. I know all of this, because I was in your shoes just a few months ago.
I was so nervous that I would not make friends with any of the people on my hall because of all the horror stories my older friends told me about their experiences. I was dreading the communal bathrooms because the terms "communal" and "bathroom" together just sound repulsive. But, once I was settled, I realized that all of these worries that I had were silly.
First things first, the bathrooms are not as bad as TV makes them out to be (just remember to wear flip flops at all times). Always be considerate when using the bathroom; you are never the only one using it. If you leave it clean, maybe the other people will remember to keep it clean, too.
Don't worry about making friends; odds are that there is someone you will have something in common with. I honestly can't recall how I became friends with the girls on my hall; it was almost like I blinked, and we were in the common room at 1 a.m. on a Thursday laughing with each other while our RA's were texting us to be quiet. These girls became my best friends, and we were always there for each other through the good and the bad. It's hard not to become close to someone when you brush your teeth side-by-side every morning. We all did everything with each other, and yes, we did travel in the stereotypical freshman pack to the Caf and the Library. Whenever we went off campus for something small, like a Target run or just to go to the Summit, we all managed to pile into someone's car. We celebrated Christmas and Halloween together, and we somehow even managed to have our own Super Bowl viewing party in our common room. Jan-Term became one of the best experiences of my life because of them. There have been ups and downs, but in the end we all still love each other no matter what.
Not everything will be perfect all the time; there might be someone on your hall that you don't like, but that's part of life. Hopefully you all will have the same amazing experiences that I had in my hall. Take a deep breath, don't be nervous, and get excited, because this is going to be an amazing year.
