For most freshman or first-year students, living in dorms is their first time sharing a living space, and cohabitating with an abundance of people their own age. In many cases, it could also be the first time they share a room, bathroom, or even have lived on their own for an extended period of time.

All of these factors in and of themselves can be extremely stressful in the first semester.

I know it was definitely an adjustment I had to get used to quickly, but luckily for me, I wasn’t alone, everyone else on my floor was dealing with a similar situation. By getting to know my roommate and my floormates, my adjustment to college living was not nearly as stressful as it could have been.

Moving into UMaine last semester probably went a lot differently for me than most people. As an only child, I had never shared a room before, or a bathroom with people close to my age, nor had I ever had to try to avoid the rush to do laundry up until a few months ago.

That being said, it didn’t take me very long to get used to living in a dorm with a lot of people my own age because I went out of my way to get to know the people I was living with.

The people on my floor were all of the similar mind to me in wanting to get to know their neighbors, which in effect caused what is apparently the very unusual occurrence of a floor becoming a tight-knit community of friends. We eat together, hang out together, and study together. There are smaller groups within the larger one, just as within a larger community there would be those distinctions.

There are many perks to being in this “unusual” situation the first being that if I want to go out and do something there is normally always someone to go with me. For the first time in my life being alone is a choice that I have to actually proactively make.

The first week of school, I couldn’t get used to the fact that I had friends who literally lived right next to me. The convenience of being able to walk down the hall and talk to someone was mind-blowing because back home my closest friend lived at the very least a mile or so away.

Eating alone is a rare occurrence because I can normally find someone who lives on my floor in the dining hall, or I can text our group chat and someone can meet me there. The first month of school, this was by far the best of all the perks. None of us were used to the whole dining hall scene yet so learning the ropes together was another form of bonding.

Another perk is if you need something, in most cases a textbook when it comes to my floor, someone has it (although in this case, it's me who has it most of the time) and will let you borrow it. It's the same with printers, office supplies, duct tape, and tools.

Getting to know your neighbors makes life so much more convenient in that respect because as long as you are respectful people will generally speaking help you out.

One of the most important perks of getting to know your neighbors in college is literally getting to know them. On a floor, there are upwards of 20 different individuals with their own interests and opinions. What better way to learn more about the world than trying to see it through someone else’s eyes? Also, what better way to make friends.

On a floor of freshman, there is no doubt in my mind that there is someone for everyone to connect with on some level. If not on the specific floor they live on, maybe the floor above or below is worth exploring.

Getting to know the people around you is the ultimate exercise in getting to know yourself, your limits, and your boundaries. Had I not pushed myself first semester I would not have made the friends I have today, learned essentially everyone on my floor’s name, nor be able to hold a short conversation with all of them.

My adjustment first semester would not have happened as quickly either, instead of being involved in various group activities within my floor community I would have struggled more just trying to find a group to belong too.

Another struggle I would have had is trying to problem solve, its a lot easier for me to ask someone I know well to turn their music down or to stop throwing a ball against the wall that connects our rooms than someone I don’t know at all. If it’s a problem that affects more than one individual, then it's so much easier to brainstorm as a group to fix it if everyone knows each other.