Dorm life. The phrase reminds me of a cheesy 80s sitcom with guys doing panty raids and girl having late night talks in their beds. In reality, dorm life can be really fun, but also rather intimidating to someone who has spent their life living in their own room in a house with no one but their family. It can be really great to go to school with someone you know as your roommate, but sometimes living together can prove to be too much strain for some friendships. It can also be really fun to get a random roommate (or two) and to make new friends that way. Unfortunately, sometimes your random roommate won’t be so friendly. The third option is living on your own in a single dorm. Here are the in-depth pros and cons of making the big leap into single living.
Pro: You make all of the choices.
You choose when you want to shut off the lights and take a nap. You choose where your bed is and where your decorations go. It’s your room. Everything is up to you and there is no one to tell you how they want things done. No compromise necessary.
Con: It can be lonely.
While there is no one to force you to sleep with the lights on, there is also no one to hang out with. Instead of having a buddy built into your room, you need to make the effort to go out and meet people, and spend time outside of your dorm. If you become a homebody you will have a rather lonely life.
Pro: The space is all yours.
Similar to the first pro, the space is all yours. A whole room that you don’t have to share. No deciding who has to have their bed over the heater or who gets how many outlets. You have an entire space that is just yours and no one else’s. This can be a lot more amazing than it sounds when you have to share everything else in your life, from bathrooms and showers to textbooks and study spaces. Having some you-space should not be taken for granted.
Con: There isn’t anyone to broaden your perspective.
When yours is the only voice in your head, you may find yourself in a rut. Living with someone you would even know if not for random roommates can really change the way you look at the world. If you’ve spent your whole life in the company of only your family, there may be a lot of aspects of the world that you are missing out on. Living with someone, you get to know them pretty quickly and very thoroughly. Even if they seem like they are like you, it may turn out that their world is completely different from your own. It’s a great way to learn more about the things you thought you knew.
Pro: There isn’t someone to fight with.
Even if you are rooming with your best friend in the world, what many people don’t anticipate is the daily conflicts. Living with someone is much different than being friends, and many pairs find this out the hard way. You could also wind up with a random roommate who disagrees with everything you say or do, and conflict can of course arise there. If one of you is neat and one of you is messy. If one of you snores or stays up late with their light on. If one of you has guests over constantly. Respecting someone else’s space can be a challenge when you have never had to do it before, and it is not a problem when you live in a single.
Con: There isn’t someone to become friends with.
Who knows what the actual statistics are, but it seems that many times when people are thrown together they become friends. Being forced to spend that much time with someone right off the bat can really bring two people together. Living in a single, you might miss out on a really great friendship.
You could make a dozen points in favor or against living in a single or living with someone. What it really boils down to is you. Are you willing to take on someone else’s issues? Are you willing to make room for another person? Is what you may get out of a roommate worth more to you than your own space and alone time? Living with someone is not about who they turn out to be. It’s about who you are willing to make yourself into.
