This tiny, three-bedroom apartment does not look like much. As a matter of fact, it is just as it looks, like a little cave with a huge crack in the wall, a corny wall decal, and a bathroom sized for 3-year-olds.
The price tag on the place will come as a shock to you, your wallet and your parents. However, I will be the first to tell you that you are paying for so much more than the little apartment.
You are paying for memories that will last a lifetime in a home that will always hold a place in your heart.
The people you share the apartment, and the house, with become your family within a month of move-in. Your neighbors will become some of your best friends, especially when the weather is nice and someone breaks out a pong table. You will make more memories on the sidewalks by your house than you could imagine. The bar may be three doors down, but sometimes even that seems a bit too far. You will forget to lock your door after the bar and friends will burst in to continue the night, or pass out on your couch.
If I could, I would easily pay rent for this place again. And if you know how much rent is, you know how much that means.
I remember how exciting it was decorating my room and making that tiny space my own. I remember proudly displaying our first, finished bottle of cheap vodka up on the cupboard as if polishing off Crystal Palace was something to be proud of. I remember cleaning the place as fast as possible before our parents came on Parents' Weekend because waking up before 10 A.M. was not happening, and, let's be honest, girls are not the cleanest people, either. I remember waking up on the couches with my roommate on a Saturday morning in wearing our full outfits more times than we would like to admit. And, I will never forget the sound of the smoke detector going off because it happened at least once a week (tip: use the fan).
I never really thought I would grow to love an apartment that I complained about so much. I did not realize my attachment to this place until I had to sit on the stool while other people looked around seeing if they wanted it for themselves after my two best friends and I had to leave.
If I were you, I would appreciate this place. When else are you going to live with two of your best friends in a house with 11 people?
Unfortunately, reality is not always like an episode of "Friends." Buy a keg and throw a party in the backyard. Sit in the common area when you are hungover on a Sunday and laugh when you are reminiscing about the weekend.
It may not look like much, but there are years worth of memories held inside those four walls. Now it is your turn to add more.
