When you think of college as a small child, you think of the luxury of living on your own (for the most part) and sharing a spacious room with one of your friends. Well, I hate to break it to you, but that dream is just completely false. When you walk into your freshman year dorm, you will 100% be shocked to see the tiny space that you will be sharing with another person. It gets a little bigger sophomore year, but not by much! However, there is a lot that you learn from sharing such a small space with someone for a whole school year.
One of the first things you learn is how to be semi-organized. When you share a room with someone else, this is almost a given. This is your home for the next 8 to 9 months, and you don't want to dread coming back from class every day to a dirty room. This is especially important when you live in a tiny dorm room because anything that isn't organized to some extent will make the room feel smaller than it is. No one wants that! So be sure to try to be at least partially organized (at least don't leave clothes on every inch of your floor, please). It will make your college experience so much better!
Another thing that I've learned from living in a tiny dorm room is how to live with another person. I have mastered the art of getting dressed in the mere light of my phone flashlight, how to be silent when getting up to go to the bathroom, and how to even do makeup with a phone flashlight (this is a skill that took me months to perfect). But most of all, I have learned how to adapt my own living habits to those that I am living with in order to make both of our lives easier. All of these skills will be useful in so many aspects of my life as I continue to grow up. When I go to graduate school to obtain my doctorate in Physical Therapy, I will most likely be living with someone else. And when I get married I'll be living with someone for the rest of my life. I've learned how to share a small space with someone I have just met. I know it's not the same with everyone (some people don't get along at all with their roommate), but I have also been lucky enough to have had two roommates (so far) who have become some of my close friends!
You will also learn to not question anything anymore. Sometimes things happen in dorm buildings that would not be socially acceptable anywhere else. People racing their rolling desk chairs down the hallway? Yep, seen it. Residents playing golf or football in the hallway? Oh yeah. Or, my personal favorite, I have woken up to find a male friend in an all-girls' dorm passed out on the common room couches. You will see it all! And it will all be an adventure!
A more fun skill that I have learned is how to make the most out of a small space! With so many things that I wanted to bring from home, it was so hard to make it all fit in a small dorm room! So, my roommates and I have learned how to bring the minimal amount of things we need but also make the room feel like home! We have a comfortable chair for guests to sit in, string lights lining the room, and curtains over our closets and windows. It's like its own mini home away from home. I have really learned that less is more!
Lastly, I learned how much I took having my own space for granted! When at home, I always had my own room and my own bathroom that I could escape to when I had a long day and just wanted alone time. And as for a bathroom, I never had to wait to shower! Although it is so much fun having a roommate, there are always those days when you just want to have time for yourself and jam to your music in your room alone for a while.
Overall, living in a shoebox-sized dorm room has been an amazing learning experience! I've met some of my best friends that I know will be in my life forever and have learned how to live with people both similar and different from myself. If you ever have the opportunity to live in a dorm I highly recommend you take it!
