Upon coming to Indiana University, I did not realize I was resident to the notorious “Virgin Vault” until people drew my attention to it. I did not even know it had such a cheesy name, like who came up with that? In my experience, some of these girls are far from virgins, but I digress. Honestly, the Virgin Vault is probably the best building to stay in, as a freshman anyways. In theory, I consider staying in the Virgin Vault similar to staying in a sorority. We are not only protective of one another, we show kindness and respect for each other, invite each other to events, and we definitely fight.

The “Virgin Vault” is similar to a sorority because we provide comfort to each other. Staying in an all girls building means we are often watching for creepy guys in the building. I remember catching a guy trying to sneak up into the dorm building. He claimed to be, “surprising his girlfriend.” Even if he was, I did not want to put the girls in danger of some guy that was not escorted up by one of the RAs in the building. I did not know him and felt protective of the girl’s safety and would never forgive myself if he turned out to harass or injure the girls.

Another way we protect each other is when someone had a few too many “apple juices” if you will. Being there to clean up the mess or make sure they get home safe (without them doing anything they will regret) is part of our sisterhood. We provide further comfort to each other because we can leave our dorms open or our personal items in the bathroom without fear of someone stealing them because we have a mutual trust in each other. We can even trust we won’t be “toweled” walking down the halls after a shower.

In any sisterhood, you always have your fights. However, you have such a solidified bond that you are able to put aside your differences. A few of us have had disagreements with our roommates or even our hall-mates. But this does not keep us from being there for one another. I know some of the girls have mixed feelings about girls who blast their music outside their dorms or make a raucous during “quiet hours." I think fighting is healthy in relationships of all kinds; sisterhood, brotherhood, and romantic interests. This is a great way to determine the endurance of the relationship. We may go back and forth, but we eventually learn to accept each other for who they are or make some sort of compromise to address the issue.

One other thing we do is show each other extreme kindness in the “Virgin Vault”. The girls in the “Virgin Vault” are generous at heart. I’ve seen girls offering quarters for someone to do their laundry, providing those hungry with snacks, and letting hall-mates use their microwave to cook. I’ve even seen girls offer their rooms for slumber when a hall-mate has been “sexiled." In other cases, we have updated them on dorm information because someone missed a hall meeting or did not hear about something that was going around in the Quad. Furthermore, it is convenient to have a food court in our building because it means we can occasionally meet for dinner together.

In conclusion, you never really know about a place until you have experienced it. The "Virgin Vault" has charming qualities that make it a wonderful place to live. I would not want to live anywhere else.