Dear Babcock Inn,
First things first, are you an office building or a residence hall? It’s so weird that there’s dorms on one side of the complex and then dorm rooms on the other? It’s always really odd when you’re trying to make ramen noodles in the communal kitchen in your pajamas but a professor is walking around with a briefcase. Without a doubt, you’re the weird dorm.
It’s always funny when people say to me, “Oh what dorm do you live in?” I respond with a hesitant “Babcock” and then they say “Is Babcock the one with the pool?” or also, an even better response is “Is that the stoner dorm?” There are in fact other amenities than the pool, even though it’s pretty cool to have a pool and no, it is not the stoner dorm, but there is an occasional smell of weed. It’s just always a gamble to tell people where you live because they probably don’t know where the dorm is or they’ve never been there.
I remember pulling up to the building in August for the first time. My parents had no idea how to get into the parking lot since the entrance isn’t actually on Speedway but on Helen. I’m pretty sure that the first thing my parents said when we saw the building was, “This building definitely needs to be washed.” Then insert the remarks about how it looks like a sketchy motel. Sorry, it kind of does look like a sketchy motel.
One night I posted a picture of the sunset off of the walkway in Babcock and posted it on Instagram. The sunsets are truly beautiful and picturesque from the third floor but my friend texted me soon after and asked me if I live in a hotel. No, I do not live in a hotel; I just live in the renovated version of a motel. It reminded me of how different living in Babcock really is.
There are definitely upsides to living in this dorm, I promise. I truly enjoy the single and double style rooms with no bunk beds. The rooms are also really big for the price, 255 x 130 ft. This is pretty decent for the price range and for a college dorm. Oh also, the walk in closets and personal bathroom are kind of the best things that are within this residence hall. So I applaud you for the fabulous living conditions. I’ve definitely gotten everything and then some for the housing prices.
The most important aspect of living here has definitely been the friends that I have made by living in this dorm. If I had chosen somewhere else, I probably wouldn’t have made such amazing friends, since Arizona is so large. I’m glad that living in this dorm with 186 other people has brought me to some of my best friends. Thank you for the community building activities that happened in the first few weeks, they led me to meet people that I may not have talked to if I hadn’t had the opportunity.
Babcock, even though you may be the "dorm with a pool" or the "stoner dorm" that I may half-heartedly tell people that I live here, thank you. I thank you very much for opening doors to friendships. Thanks Babs!
Yours truly,
Your Resident
