School is back in session and I am deep into my academic life that consists of books, books, and more books. Being a Religion major is sweet because you get to read tons of books, but also you have to read tons of books at times when perhaps you would rather be at the beach or sleeping or painting or whatever you do for fun. I’ve spent more time in the library already this semester than I probably have the last two years combined, but that is mostly because last year I was always doing homework in my dorm room at 3 a.m… ANYWAYS, this year when I’m not in the library or at class or work, you can usually find me in my cottage!
Living in a cottage has some drawbacks, like being a little further away from academic buildings and downtown Holland, having to shovel more snow in the winter, and having to clean more in general (how adult of all of us!), but there are a whole bunch of things about it that make it great!
The kitchen.
I was so jazzed about my kitchen before moving in, and I am still so thankful for it! I’m not on meal plan this year (partially due to Holland’s incumbent Chick-Fil-A), so I’ve been in the kitchen of my house a lot. It’s so nice to have a place to cook that I don’t have to share with an entire res hall!
The laundry.
I have laundry in my house. All I have to do is walk down the stairs and it’s right there. What joy!
The space.
My house has a living room with a sliding door that separates it from the dining room, which is great for times when someone in the house needs to have a meeting or do homework in one room or the other. We also have a nice screened-in porch where I’ve been sitting on cooler nights to do homework or talk on the phone. My room is also way bigger than my rooms in res halls ever were, and…
The closet.
This is not a common thing to all cottages (or even all the rooms in one cottage), but my closet is HUGE you guys. Seriously. My roommate and I could probably both fit our beds in there if we really wanted to. Now we can buy all the clothes. But we’re trying to pay for college so please encourage us to not buy all the clothes.
The humans.
In res halls, you get placed with at least some people that you do not know (especially your freshman year when you hardly know anyone), which can be really great, but sometimes you wish you could just be with all your friends. In cottages, you can be! The RA of your house gets to pick at least half of the people you’re living with, depending on how many occupants live in your cottage. My cottage has eight people in it, so the RA (my roommate), actually got to pull in every single person in our house. We didn’t all know each other really well before move-in day, but I’m getting to know each person little by little as the semester starts to move on. It’s super cool!
I am also rooming with my best friend Allix this year, which has been the greatest. I knew it would be good going into it, but since I didn’t have a roommate last year, I didn’t know exactly how everything would go. It’s been so good though! I’ve had two really awesome roommates so far in college and I’m so thankful that we all made our way to Hope!
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about cottage life or just want to keep up with me, follow me on Twitter (@hopekathryn17), Instagram (@kathrynekrieger), or email me at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu!
“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
– John 8:36