To whom this may concern,
Coming into college, I had very low expectations as to how big my dorm room would be. I had very low expectations like everyone told me to have. On the first move-in day, I walked in on a sunny, warm August morning and was pleasantly surprised. I had a big room with open windows and a view. I was pleasantly surprised and happy with what I got. I really hope when you open these doors with your own key, you will be just as happy.
Although college is a hard transition and adjustment, your dorm is your new home. Treat it this way. You will be living and sleeping there for eight or nine months. Decorate the room, make it unique, and your own. Having a room you feel comfortable in and love to live in is so important. After coming back from walking across campus and being in class all day, you will want to come back to a sweet escape. As I'm sure many people have lived in my room before, I hope you create the best memories in there.
Enjoy college, your freshman year. It is so important. Get to know your RA and your floor mates because you will be with them all year and you never know when you will need something from them or just need a friend to escape to across the hall. Even though you may not get the best roommate, try to at least get along by decorating together, or talking. Enjoy the little things about a room so small.
It is your first time living away from home and you will remember your first dorm experience for the rest of your life. I hope that no matter where your crazy next few semesters take you, you never take for granted the amazing, big, open room you get, and the freedom that comes along with it as well. I hope you cry, laugh, and study in your new home. I'm sure I will come and try to visit this room again and hope to see you did well with the space you got and were just as happy to be living there as I was.
A dorm is a serendipity sanctuary. Sometimes you may be alone in it. Sometimes you will have your roommate, and sometimes you will have your friends there, too. I know I will carry the memories of this room with me forever. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the feeling I got walking into my first dorm freshman year. I can replay this memory over and over again and hope you do the same. So, please take this article into account and liven up the room. Bring it to life and create your own expectations of the way you chose to live here. It is your home away from home. Make sure you feel comfortable living here and let the next person who gets your room feel the same.
