I have lived on campus for two years in three different rooms, in three different units, with three different roommates, and three different RAs. I’ve driven to and from home to campus at least four times with my car packed with all my items (which always fit better on the way up than they did on the way back). I’ve made some great memories in the temporary air that surrounds on-campus living, and this week I made my final one: I moved out. Yes, this week I moved out of my dorm for what I hope to be the last time. And, as many complaints that people have about dorms, there are definitely things I’ll miss in my new apartment.

1. Community. If you do the whole “living on campus” thing the way I did, then you know your neighbors. You know the people in your unit. You can ask anything of almost anyone in your dorm and get a positive response. I can ask for homework help, a ride to work, or an egg and nine times out of ten there’s someone willing to help.
2. Proximity. If I get lonely, I can walk down the hall or across campus to see what my friends are up to. I don’t have to drive anywhere, I don’t have to put on real clothes, and I don’t have to bring food to make myself feel welcome. Everything is within walking distance: my friends, my classes, my bed. All the important stuff.
3. Being able to wake up late. Ok, maybe not late, but definitely later than when I live off campus. Being in my dorm meant that I could wake up at 8:55 for my 9am and still make it on time. I could throw on some clothes and be out the door by 8:57, giving me a whole three minutes to walk across the parking lot to my class. It was a good life and I’ll miss it.
4. Knowing about on-campus events. You know those programs that the RAs put on every couple of weeks? Those are really fun and they don’t exist when you live off campus. Who am I going to make cupcakes or chia pets with? How am I going to know when the next campus movie night is? I’ll be completely lost.
5. Sharing food. If I had a nickel for every time someone in my dorm made too much food or just had a bunch of extra to give away I wouldn’t need to save my money for my bi-weekly trips to Walmart. Honestly, community living is most convenient when it comes to being fed because A. someone always has food and B. someone always needs food. It’s a fair trade.

There are a bunch of other things that I’ll miss about my dorm, but I know I’ll enjoy apartment living as well. For one, air conditioning will be a nice addition to my lifestyle. But, despite the room for improvement, being close to my friends and classes wasn’t so bad.