In my experience, living in dorms is better than most people make it out to be. While I certainly don’t mind having my own room when I go back home, there are a lot of positives about dorm life that tend to get overlooked. I especially realize this now that a lot of my friends are in apartments and cottages, and I can see what their experiences have been like. So, without further ado, let’s take a moment and appreciate all the great things that living in a dorm comes with.
Being Closer to Everything
If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s convenience. I appreciate nothing more than having to take as little time as possible to get to my destination. This is one of the reasons why I love the dorms so much: they’re closer to everything. I’m a computer science major, and part of why I chose to live in Voorhees this year is that I wanted to be closer to Van Zoeren, which is home to the computer science department. I also have a dual major in philosophy, and Voorhees is also quite close to Lubbers, which is where the philosophy department resides. As someone who isn’t exactly a morning person, I’m grateful that the two buildings I’m in most are basically within arm’s reach. Especially with the cold winter weather, I want to be inside as quickly as possible, and being in a dorm allows me to do that.
Impromptu Hangouts
One of the awesome things about being in a building with a bunch of your friends is that it becomes really easy to hang out without much prior planning. Lately I’ve been watching a show with some friends, and since we all live in the same place, we can just swing by each other’s rooms and watch another episode. Sometimes I even get to spend time with my friends without intending to do so. If I do homework in the lobby, it’s very likely that at least one person will come and join me. With college being so busy, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to try to balance homework and maintaining friendships. I’m grateful for any chance I get to make the latter easier.
Having Less to Clean
Besides friendships, another thing that’s hard to maintain while you’re in college is the cleanliness of your room. I’m already not the neatest of people (which my roommates know quite well), but it feels nearly impossible to stay organized with a million deadlines looming over your head. That’s why I deeply appreciate not having that much to clean in the first place. I can’t imagine having to take the time to maintain a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room on top of my personal space. I’m grateful that Hope has amazing custodial staff that take care of the residential hall common areas.
Living in a dorm is a unique experience that many people only experience in college. While it will never be sunshine and roses one hundred percent of the time, I think there’s a lot of really great aspects to it that often don’t get talked about enough. So if you live in a dorm, savor it! Your time there is limited. And if you’re a prospective student worried about the transition to dorm life, take it from me: there’s a lot of things to love about the dorms.