Off campus is now the new campus. As the time has officially come, I am now an off campus student in an off campus house within the city of my college. I never though this day would come that I have my own room, no roommate, and the dining hall is now irrelevant. Now that junior year has came and the off campus is the new campus, it is a whole new world.
When you are blessed with food: With living off campus that means the endless days of options and food to shove down your throat at the dining hall, are over. We have to cook and clean our own food now. We love to eat we love when the food is done. Yet, we are the lazy people who spend money on food out or the easy cup of noodles or frozen waffles. No one wants to clean, no one wants to wait for it, and no one wants to even move from their netflix show.
You want to be cool so: Living off campus means no resident assistance, and your own personal party. Got to love throwing a great pregame to the neighbors yelling and threatening you the next day! With living off campus comes the fact of residential families who want to sleep at 10 pm. So the four in the morning after hours are worth the yelling. Living next to other students and walking distances from houses make it fun and the crave for constantly partying increases.
Driving to class: Living in the dorms was easier to handle because all you did was wake up and go to the dining hall for food already prepared. Getting breakfast or not, you barely had to rush because you were a walk away. Off campus means you are barely near the school if your house is far (we chose closer to the bars). So, you have to get up early to make a breakfast and drive to campus to find a spot in an off-campus commuter parking lot. So morning classes for an off-campus student are the classes you will never see them in.
Isolation Depression: This phase does not last for a while but it is a tough one. Off campus is now the new campus, and the "new" off campus meanings walking to houses or driving to them to visit friends. You all eat your own food so the dining hall memories passed. Borrowing clothes is a pain because you aren't right next to your friends dorm room. Seeing only your housemates when they are home and the neighbors when you aren't annoying them is fun for so long.
Loving every second of it: It is sad to think about becoming a junior, paying rent on a house, buying more beer than needed, or even becoming isolated and bored. Living off campus is the best, and I love to hate every second of it. You have your own house to make memories in so we use the time wisely. We attempt to be studious Monday, Tuesday, maybe Wednesday and that is it. We are scholarly students before the weekend. The weekend is our time to shine and embarrass ourselves. Our time to make the neighbors mad and drive to get your car because you left it at someone's house. Love every moment of every story that happens in your house.
So grab a beer and enjoy it because the off campus is the new campus.
