I am a college freshman living in a dorm far, far away from my comfortable hometown. I live in a shoebox with a bathroom down the hall that is shared by 20 other women. My meals are sketchy at best, containing lots of caffeine and carbs. I am living what most people view as a very typical freshman year. While my life is exactly what you’d expect in some aspects, there is one large facet that separates me from the rest of my dorm’s population. I share a hall with the future of The United State’s Air Force. And this has shaped my life in more ways than I am consciously aware.
The men and women who live on the floor already have a community built. This community is actually established by the university’s housing department and is defined as the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Living Learning Community, or the AFROTC LLC. While not everybody who is a resident on my floor is an LLC participant, all of us can benefit from living in such a unique populace.
I moved here as an only child, never having to share, think of people besides myself, or deal with others’ thoughts, feelings, and daily lives. While I expected to have to wait for a shower (which surprisingly doesn’t happen?), I did not expect to say good morning to two dozen cadets who are heading to PT (physical training) at 5:30 in the morning. I also did not expect to look forward to doing so.
I’ve gotten so close to most of the cadets and have a very personal relationship with each and every one of them. I am lucky to have the support system that was already in place and extended to an outsider. Because these cadets work as a team, they have to be able to fall back and rely on their other cadets. They also offer their emotional safety net to those who are like me, a person living in their doorway.
People usually fall into one of two categories, either outsiders looking in or insiders looking out. Yet those of us who live with the LLC are stuck at the halfway point, knowing enough of the jargon and protocol to continue a very happy existence among the cadets yet lacking total knowledge and not actually being in the program which creates a division. I can tell military time, recite the military phonetic alphabet, and am able to correctly identify a C-17. The barrier is extremely visible in our schedules, though. While the cadets are sweating at PT, I'm usually showering and getting ready for the day. While they have their specialized Leadership Lab on Thursdays, I’m stranded doing homework or looking for something to do. Most of the cadets are STEM majors, usually engineers or nursing, so most of them share classes and can study together. I am a creative writing major who is taking college algebra, meaning I usually edit their essays and receive math tutoring at the cost of hearing how easy my homework is. Yet no other individual will have the exact same experiences and be able to apply them to everyday life.
Living on this floor has given me so many opportunities and presented irreproducible experiences, memories, and friendships. I have grown as a person. I have become more empathetic and shameless. I have learned the value of patience. I have learned to give until it hurts while expecting nothing in return. I have had the chance to meet some of the greatest men and women. I was also given the privilege to call them friends. Living with these cadets has given me the opportunity to live and learn with their community.
