As a junior this year, I have the wonderful experience of living in an apartment on campus. It's only been a week since I moved in, but I have learned so much in just one week. Having an apartment has allowed me to be even more independent than I was when I first came to college. I have to have a budget, cook for myself, buy my own groceries and supplies, and clean the apartment. Doing all these things have made me feel more like an official adult.
Being an adult is a lot of responsibility, however. Because it's Week of Welcome, there has been a lot of free food, so I have only cooked dinner for myself a few times this first week. The times I did cook were stressful because I had to figure out what I wanted to eat and how to cook it. I did well the first time; I made a chicken panini in my panini maker. I was really worried I would undercook the chicken but I did a pretty good job for never having cooked it before. My second attempt at cooking my own dinner didn't go as well as the first. I decided I would make a pork chop and green beans for myself. I put my green beans in the microwave and started grilling my pork on my panini maker. It was gong well at first but then when I tried flipping the pork, I pushed it right off the panini maker onto the dirty kitchen floor (pictured below). Then, because I was using both the panini maker and the microwave, the fuse in the kitchen went out (it does that when we use more than one plugged in kitchen appliance). So my pork chop sat out for almost an hour while we waited for physical plant to turn it back on. Needless to say, I finally threw away the pork chop and resorted to a BLT no T and the green beans. I documented this whole experience to my mom and sister and they got a kick out of it. Lessons were learned that night.
Living in an apartment makes me feel older. When people ask me where I'm going, I say I'm going to my apartment. That phrase alone sounds so adult. I have more confidence and more maturity since I've moved in. Yes, living in an apartment comes with many challenges and stressful situations, but it will teach me many lessons that I can take with me when I graduate in two years.
In one week, the smoke alarm has gone off, the fuse has gone out twice in the kitchen, and I've forgotten laundry in the washer in the creepy laundry room in the basement. But I am slowly learning about apartment life. It's quite an adventure, but I'm glad I have a great roommate to experience it with and entertaining stories to tell my family. This year while living here, I will gain great experiences and lessons that I will remember in the future. College is about learning and growing into who you are meant to be; living in my apartment will do just that.
