Moving out of your parents' house is a rite of passage--whether it be when you're 18 or when you're 25. It's liberating.
Going off to college was one of the most exciting things in my life. I couldn't wait to live in a dorm, meet new people, and find my independence. Although there were ups and downs to living in a dorm, it was a great experience.
Here are 10 things you definitely experienced if you ever lived in a dorm:
1. You and your roommates were inseparable
Who doesn't love living with their best friends?
2. There were times when you went weeks without doing laundry, and your outfits showed it
In an ideal world, your mom would come pick it up every weekend and handle it for you, but alas, we don't live in a perfect world, and one of my roommates got very desperate for clean clothes.
3. You went on late night food runs with your roommates
There is no better way to bond than over 48 donuts and Taylor Swift's Pandora station.
4. You adjusted to napping anywhere
It doesn't matter if your roommates are watching tv or talking on the phone, when it's nap time, it's nap time--even if it's a group nap.
5. You made questionable decisions to save money
College students are BROKE. I saved my friends money by cutting their hair out of my dorm last year, and I know a girl who gave discount tattoos out of her dorm. Maybe not the best or safest idea, but hey, whatever saves you money, right?
6. You always had someone to do something with you
The good thing about being forced to live with three other people was that they never had an excuse not to do something or go somewhere with me. Let's face it, you lived with me. I knew you didn't have plans, so obviously we had to go roller skating
7. You had to suffer a nasty shower
Whether it was a community shower or a shower shared between suites, things got real gross, real fast. My roommates and I ended up having to keep a chart in the bathroom to keep track of whose turn it was to remove the hairball. I think I missed my shower at home most while I was living in a dorm.
8. You survived off of snack foods for at least a week
There were several occasions where I used all my meal swipes for the week well before it was close to being over. I basically survived last January by rationing a 5 lb. jar of jelly beans and a pack of chocolate pudding cups.
9. You reached new levels of desperation
There was a time when I was so desperate to print something for class, but my laptop wouldn't connect to the printer. Like any other logical college student, I made a copy of my laptop screen. Hey, whatever gets the job done.
10. You learned a new meaning to the word "family"
Your roommates become your family, whether it be by choice or by nature of living together for nine months. I wouldn't have traded mine for the world.
