Dorm life is hard. Freshman year is a sea of confusion and innocence. Do I wear the lanyard the school gave me? (No). Which brick building is MY brick building? What the heck is "D-hall," and will that actually become part of my vocabulary? (It will).
A good roommate can be a make or break situation. However, people often forget about the importance of hallmates. Freshman year, my adorable Minnesotan neighbor, cleaned and bandaged a drunken wound of mine, as she saw me stumbling through the hallway. I will never forget that act of neighborly kindness only found in college. Sophomore year, my suitemates and I were in the corner of Man. Boys surrounded us in every neighborly direction, but we didn't know any of them after our lonely days on fourth floor Moore with all girls. On the first Wine Wednesday, we took a shot and invited the "boys across the hall." They brought an artfully prepared plate of cheese and it became quite the tradition. The next Wednesday we brought the cheese and they provided the wine. The friendship grew, and soon barging into each other's rooms became the norm. Yes, sometimes knocks would have been appreciated post-shower exits, but I now consider those stranger neighbors some of my best friends.
This year, as I enter my Junior year, a lot of strangers surround me. New freshman will find me irrelevant, sophomores have their set friend groups, and seniors are readying themselves for the real world. Most of my grade is flitting around Europe and studying the art of alcohol abroad. This year is another important year of dorm neighbor (graduated to apartment neighbor). This is the semester, if any, to make new friends. I can happily say, the new "boys next door" are quickly filling the role of the proper apartment neighbor. Entrance between the back doors, rather than the front, is becoming quite common after the first week and their grill has provided many the clutch bbq party. (We brought pasta salad, this isn't a mooch relationship.)
The other night, after knocking on multiple doors, friendly strangers offered us the ping pong balls we so dearly needed. So yes, college neighbors may not offer you sugar, but they do offer so much more - possible friendship, random acts of kindness, comfortability, community. Most importantly, they offer a chance to annually meet new people. To test yourself to not get complacent in friendships. Dorm neighbors are to be cherished and their kindness reciprocated.
