Moving into a college dorm is an experience like no other, and one that I’ll treasure my entire life. You meet new people, learn things about yourself you never knew, and experience independence like you’ve never had before. Being surrounded by and living with literal hundreds of other college kids is new and exciting to most of us, but it can also be suffocating at times.
After the excitement of the first few weeks of dorm life, you start to notice that although living with your friends is great, there are some things you miss. You realize that you miss your mom and her cooking. You miss your “me time,” being alone in your room without anyone talking to you, watching "Gossip Girl" for probably the fourth time through. Especially if you have a roommate, you’re almost always surrounded by people. Your neighbors and friends are constantly hanging out in your room, and as much as you love it, you probably also wish you could have some peace and quiet for a few hours.
Making time to spend a few hours just with yourself can be vital to your health and sanity in your first semester! Since most of us aren't used to being around so many people 24/7, it can get a bit overwhelming. I learned this lesson the hard way. I spent all my time out and about, hanging out with friends all hours of the day: in between classes, to get food, at night, and even slept in their rooms sometimes. After a couple months though, I found that if you carve out just a few hours every weekend to get away from the constant noise, craziness, and people, that you’ll feel more refreshed than ever. Go lay in the grass and read a book, or take a walk by yourself. Turn off your phone for a few hours and just be in the moment. Trust me, it’ll help more than you know!
Since most of us spent our entire high school years living with our parents, there wasn’t much time when you were completely by yourself. Even though your parents usually let you do your own thing, they were always in the house, and if you asked, they would usually accompany you to the grocery store. At school, you always took your best friend to the bathroom with you.
Now that we’ve transitioned into college and we’re living on our own as adults, everyone has different schedules and you’re forced to do a lot of things by yourself. For some of us, that may be a big change from our previous lives, and it may take some time to get used to. Being alone isn’t exactly something we’ve grown up to be comfortable with, however the sooner you master the art of entertaining yourself, you’ll find yourself not only being much more efficient in your life, but also independent!
College can be the most stressful, rewarding, and exciting time of our lives. In the end, however, it is still all about balance. We have to make some time to spend with just ourselves to escape from the excitement and craziness of the first year living away from home. Not only will you feel more relaxed, but you’ll learn how to be independent and self-sufficient, which is a skill that’ll prove very important for the rest of our lives.
