Wednesday, June 27, 2012

WENSDOM: Dorm life



Living in a co-ed art dorm was an amazing experience for me. It's how I became close to Phaedra, created a sisterhood with a few other girls, and well, a family out of most the other dorm mates. We operated very much like a family, my floor felt like the family you actually live with, while the third floor felt like cousins that come around for holidays and special events, and the first floor felt like the distant family you see if you make the effort to travel to them or something. It was a very close knit quarters to say the least. There were both many ups and downs though, part of why Phaedra and I have chosen to move off campus together. Dorms in general take a certain kind of someone to survive, throwing in the co-ed factor can really amplify the experience in positive and negative ways. Looking back on it now, I really did love it for all that went right and all that went wrong. Above all I think I really learned a lot about myself in living in such an environment like a co-ed dorm.

Lessons Learned:


  1. Don't underrate how important alone time is.
  2. Talk to the quiet girl who never leaves her room, she may just blow your mind.
  3. Make friends outside your dorm, (this one is more for specialty housing like art/science/and greek life dorms) it's important to have variety in the types of people you interact with.
  4. Newborn kittens really don't belong in a dorm setting, no matter how supportive your dorm mates and RA are.
  5. Repay favors, especially if you're in debt to someone who stayed up with you until 5 in the morning while you were extremely intoxicated and extremely sick.
  6. Keep your door open occasionally, you never know who will stop by.
  7. Don't be so quick to write people off, no one is ever all one way.
  8. Try your best to avoid hostile living situations, so be upfront when someone you live with does something to or around you that you're not okay with.
  9. Let's be honest, trying to have a relationship whether romantic or sexual with someone you live with is never a good idea, remember you have to see them every day even if things end badly.
  10. Be yourself, broken record, but you'd surprised how many people still don't listen to that.
~much love Turtle

No comments:

Post a Comment