After practically living at Target, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond for weeks and spending countless hours looking at Pinterest college dorm checklists, the time has finally come to move into your freshman dorm. Living in a freshman dorm can seem frightening at first, especially after hearing dorm horror stories from your college friends. But the reality is that your freshman year dorm is a huge part of your college experience and most likely something that you will enjoy and remember forever. This is the place where you will probably meet some of your closest friends, have endless laughs, and make many interesting memories that will make for some great stories in the future. But just like any good experience, there are challenges that come along with it, and this is especially true for first-year college students.
1. The Lofted Bed
Miley Cyrus once said that life is the climb. However, never did I once think that I would literally be required to climb until I lofted my bed on move-in day of college. With a lofted bed comes many challenges: It's been a long day, you're tired, now imagine having to literally plan your approach and strategy to get into bed. There are some days where I will just stand on the step-stool and contemplate if it is even worth it to literally lift myself to sleep, which requires energy, core strength, and a possibility that I will fail to make it onto my bed. But if you've completed the strenuous task of getting onto your bed, you can forget about getting back down for at least another hour. So if you forgot your phone charger, laptop, or glasses it looks like you're going to have to do without it. "Either you make it or you don't" is the saying I would use to describe getting off the bed, especially if it's in the middle of the night in complete and utter darkness. So my advice would be would be to watch your step, or jump, depending on what approach you're using. Also, because I am literally defying gravity while sleeping, there is little to no room between the ceiling and my head, so when I wake up, there is always the possibility that I will lose a few brain cells and scare my roommate if my head comes in contact with the ceiling.
2. The 15'2''x 10'6'' Room
Let's be honest, most freshman dorm rooms are not exactly the most luxurious and spacious rooms on the block. But once you've accepted the fact that that you will be living in a small space, you can plan how to condense you're lifestyle to fit that space. Yes, there will be little-to-no room to walk, and odds are your wardrobe will probably contain your life: towels on the top shelf, clothes hanging on one side, a shoe organizer on the other, makeup bags and purses in the middle, and other miscellaneous items on the bottom, underneath all that. Also your desk will probably contain everything but books, as you run out of places to store your things. But hey, on the bright side, it gets better every year. You know what they say: with age comes wisdom, and in a college upperclassman student's case, a bigger dorm room.
3. Penthouse Problems
Drake once said that we go from 0 to 100 real quick; I wish that was the same case for my building's elevator. Being on the 7th floor, or what my floor refers to as "The Penthouse" comes with an amazing view and a prolonged elevator ride. So if you live anywhere near the top floor of your building, plan to leave your room at least 5-10 minutes in advance, especially if you have class or work. Odds are the elevator will have many stops to make before it gets to your floor, not including the stops it will make on the way back down. So it might be a better idea to take the stairs, if you don't mind seven flights of them.
4. The Literal Load On Your Shoulders
It's Friday night--congratulations you made it through another week of your college career. But just as you're about to celebrate with Netflix, a pizza, or a party, you realize that your hamper is close to overflowing. So it's probably time to do laundry, unless you want to wake up Saturday morning with no clothes to wear. Now if you're building is anything like mine, where the entire building shares the laundry unit, doing laundry just became a little more difficult. Not only must you lug your hamper from your room onto the elevator all the way down to the basement to do laundry; you have to do that three times. The first, to put your clothes in the washer, the second, in the dryer, and the third, to bring them back up to your room. Now, sure, I could just wait in the basement, but doing laundry is not a five minute ordeal; it takes a good hour and a half at least, and there is no wasting that time watching my clothes spin in a washer. Also, because most washers and dryers are occupied the majority of the time, I don't bother separating clothes by color and into delicates and normal, and putting towels in a completely separate load; my jeans are going in with my towels and my t-shirts, and well, I just pray for the best at this point.
5. The Communal Bathroom
Shared stalls, sinks, and showers; sounds a bit like a high-school locker room setting. But although this may sound slightly unappealing, good hygiene is still very necessary in college. All I have to say, is that I took the bathrooms in my house for granted. That's why when I went home for the first time since I started college, it felt great to not wear flip-flops in the shower, and to be able to leave the bathroom in my towel without having to scan the hallway to make sure it is clear before proceeding to my room. Nevertheless, you get used to the communal bathroom setting, just like everything else in college, and if anything, you get really close to the other people on your floor.
