Beginning college came with a multitude of feelings: excitement, anxiousness, stress, sadness… it was an emotional roller coaster. You are finally on your own and no longer living under your parents roof. Living in a dorm is a unique experience, and is unlike any other living arrangement you will encounter in your life. Your experience is what you make of it. Who better to explain the ups and downs of this cohabiting living experience than the cast of your favorite former NBC sitcom?
1. Move-in day was a stressful process.
Moving into a new environment was overwhelming enough, and with your entire family ready to unload the boxes you waited hours to be delivered to your room, it's safe to say the overall stress level in the room was high, but nothing was going to bring down your excitement to start this new chapter in your life.
2. You quickly realized how small your dorm room ACTUALLY was.
If you have a tendency to overpack, like myself, you quickly recognized that the boxes and boxes of belongings you packed simply weren't going to fit in your room.
3. Your floor mates become your best friends.
These are the first people you will meet upon your arrival to college, and most likely the ones you will be friends with all through college.
4. There's no such thing as being too close.
Since you are with your college friends 24/7, there is no longer anything that is TMI. You will quickly learn that privacy isn't a thing as you frequently walk in and out of your neighbors rooms without knocking.
5. Your wardrobe triples in size.
Thanks to the friends you've made on your floor you now not only have one closet, but five. Outfits rotate throughout the group to the point where you can't remember who it actually belongs to.
6. You learn to deal with the noise.
The floor is never dull on a weekend night, however, you'll also learn to sleep right through the screams outside your door at 3am on a Tuesday.
7. Mom isn't there to do your laundry.
You're now faced with one of the biggest responsibilities of all, the ever so dreaded laundry. If you are like myself, you tend to wait until the laundry basket is spilling over before you decide it's a good time to do your laundry. Getting a machine is a brutal competition, and don't forget to set a timer or your laundry WILL be removed from the machine.
8. You are forced to do other grown-up chores.
Living in a dorm forces you to do daily, real-life chores that are important, such as taking out the trash and doing your dishes. You are living in a small area now so if you leave your dirty dishes sitting on your desk your room will develop a stench. Don't be that roommate.
9. Your roommate.
Your roommate is that person that will listen to you vent about boys at 2 AM while munching on a bag of popcorn, they will great you with a big smile after a long day, be your personal motivator when you're pulling an allnighter to study for your exam. They're also the ones that will let you back in the room when you've locked yourself out so be grateful.
10. Storage bins become your best friends.
Under-bed storage units are a blessing, and probably your only saving grace if you brought practically your entire house with you to college.
11. The bathrooms are just as bad as you imagined them to be.
Since you are now living in such close corners with so many people, the bathrooms tend to take the hardest hit. You will see some nasty things in there and won't truly appreciate showering without flip flops until you visit home.
12. And they're always being cleaned at the least convenient times.
13. Saying goodbye to your college friends on move-out day will be just as hard as saying goodbye to your family when you moved in.
Once all your bags are packed and you are staring at the blank cinder block walls of your dorm, you become aware of how much you are actually going to miss this place and how strange it's going to feel when you aren't surrounded by these people 24/7.
