When people hear the name of the university I attend, they automatically assume that I am a commuter. Their assumption seems pretty reasonable; after all, over 90 percent of the students here live off-campus, and I do live only 20 minutes away. When I proceed to tell them that I live on campus, I get various replies. Some replies are positive words of encouragement, and others are questioning why I chose to “waste my money” by paying for rent on a dorm that I “don’t really need.” I understand why people would be skeptical about my choice to owe upwards of $7,000 a year to have a spot on campus I can call my own. I applaud those who made the choice to save money by commuting from home, and I don’t think their college experience has to be any less valid. However, I find it offensive when people casually tell me that I’m making a mistake by living on campus without knowing my reasoning for attending the school or living there.

I chose my school because I wanted to attend college in a dynamic, urban setting. I chose it because I love everything about the school and the opportunities it provides me with. I didn’t choose it for convenience purposes, or because I couldn’t get in anywhere else, or for any of the other untrue misconceptions about commuter schools. People assume that commuter schools are glorified community colleges, and I know that both commuters and on-campus residents would strongly disagree with that statement. Just because the majority of students don’t live in a dorm does not make any of the students’ experiences any less legitimate. Conversely, the sole fact that I live on campus does not necessarily make my experiences any more superior. Ultimately, your college experience is determined by how you decide to live your life. The place you live in is not the deciding factor in whether or not you will enjoy college.

For me, however, living on campus helps me get the most out of my college experience. It isn’t because I can wake up 10 minutes before my class and still make it in time—it’s the people I get to know and the amazing memories I will continue to make that are making my time in college some of the best years of my life. If I had lived at home and commuted to school, I would likely feel discouraged from getting close to the people I meet because I would only see those people during school hours. I wouldn’t have felt like I could truly open myself up to my friends from class, because even if they were amazing people, they were only my friends during that class. Living on campus and spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week in a close-knit community helped me build friendships that were made to last. My roommate, my hallmates, and people who started as just familiar faces in the elevator have become some of my best friends. For me, college was the first time I got to spend more than a week away from home and really get the chance to branch out more. I didn’t have to answer to anybody and I could hang out with my friends as late as I wanted to. Since I had grown up with strict parents, all of these opportunities were so new to me and they were life-changing in the best way. Living with people who started out as complete strangers has taught me patience, independence, and camaraderie. The random girl who hung out on my floor a lot because her boyfriend lived there has since become one of my best friends. Our friendship grew through many long nights of talking, studying, adventuring, and binge-watching our favorite shows. The girl a few floors below me who was the same major as me became a quick study-buddy and is now one of my future roommates and my support system through nursing school. The people who lived on my floor last year were the most genuine, entertaining group of people I had ever met in my life, and I know that many of those friendships will last a lifetime. When you are always surrounded by friends who become your second family, they will see you at your highest and lowest points, and if you are as lucky as I am, they will be there for you through all of it.

I am not by any means saying that people who live at home and commute to school have a hard time making and keeping friends. In my situation, however, I needed an unfamiliar setting to escape the same experiences I’ve lived for 18 years. I needed to go away to college, and even though my perfect school happened to be one extremely close to home, I still needed to experience the same things as I would if I went to college many states away. I needed the freedom to make my own choices about my life and to grow as a person. Not everyone needs to live with strangers for a year to discover who they are, but in my case, I did. I made a choice that has changed me for the better and I never looked back. Before you tell me that I am wasting my money, please realize that I did what was best for my future, my memories, and my life. You can’t put a price on that.