After a year of feeling uncomfortable on a rowdy floor in my Freshman dorm, I decided to move to an off campus building run by the school. My building is gorgeous, with amazing views of the Prudential Center from the fourth floor, and a single room for most inhabitants. Moving here has given me the ability to work more freely in almost any room of the complex, and the freedom to find a new place to study each time. Moving here has made me happier, and everyone should respect this.
Last year, my floor was probably the most dysfunctional floor you could find, and while I loved it, it was affecting my school work. I would stay up late night trying to get homework done in the kitchen while groups seemed to come in waves, feeding into the overall loudness of the place I called home. After working on homework for several hours, I would have to sneak into my tiny, forced-triple dorm, where one of my room mates could already be found asleep. My bed was lofted as high as it went, with my desk shoved underneath it, so my third room mate could have hers to do her make up on. I longed for a place that felt like home, and I felt that I would never get it in the place I was.
While living in the most uncomfortable place I had ever been, I was fortunate enough to meet my best friend, and a few more who came to visit us. We could rely on each other for support, especially when our third room mate left. For a while I felt I had a place of my own, a shared space with someone I am still very close with (she lives in the same building as me this year) and I could feel myself become happier. When we toured our new building, we understood that this was a good option for us, a quiet place that felt like a home.
After moving in to my Sophomore year, I realized that many think I made the wrong decision. They say I'm too far away to enjoy the college atmosphere, but that couldn't be any less true. In my first month at school, I was able to take advantage of every club I had been in Freshman year, and add another, while also finding community service opportunities. People say I am never on camous or I'm too far away for them to visit me. While I only have classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I am on campus daily and eat meals with friends when I can. I can still visit friends who live on campus by using the shuttle whenever I feel necessary, and they can also use the shuttle to transport themselves here. I am still the same girl I was when I moved in, I can't imagine it could be any different now just because I don't sleep on the same campus as someone.
Feeling at home is important to me, so much so I was willing to make the sacrifice to move off campus in order to feel that, and it has benefited me. I am able to study more, and lock myself in order to concentrate. I have my own room with my own desk that no one can ask me to hide under my bed and I feel safe and happy here. How can anyone try to tell me I'm a bad person for doing the right thing for myself?
