Maria ReaskLiving on campus as a freshman is like living the dream: All of your friends are close by – in your resident hall or the one next door and the cafeteria (where you have an UNLIMITED meal plan) is only a few steps away from where you take classes.
But let’s be real. Living on campus gets old come sophomore year, especially if you still live in a residence hall.
Living in the college bubble gets old after a while. While sometimes we wish that the care-free college life would never end, there are other times when frankly, we wish we could live anywhere but in a double room on the 9th floor in Hall.
Here are realities of living on campus that we are so over.
1. Communal bathrooms
I do not go to the bathroom nearly as much as I should because of the horror that is a communal bathroom in a freshman dorm. I AM A SENIOR. But because of my 1-year program at my college, I was placed with a bunch of freshmen, which is a nightmare in itself. Even if I was placed with a bunch of girls my age, I would still hate sharing a bathroom with 40 other people. I’ve seen it all: Shed hair that clogs shower drains. Clogged sinks with water and someone’s toothpaste spit. Ripped toilet paper on the floor and overflowing garbages. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you what has been seen in the stalls. The people that have to clean these bathrooms should be nominated for sainthood.
2. Cafeteria Food
If you live on campus, chances are you are obligated to buy one of the school’s meal plans. Sure, some schools offer delicious food options, but most colleges do not. For one thing, there are not enough options in the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Secondly, the limited choices that actually are offered are cycled through the cafeteria’s meal calendar far too often. Like, I’m good. I’ll pass on eating “Swedish meatballs” and instant mashed potatoes for the 6th Tuesday in a row.
3. RA’s
True life: I’m older than my RA. I personally may be a special case being 21 while my RA is 19, but I’m sure many college kids who have an RA would agree that sometimes, they need to find some chill. Don’t get me wrong – I have plenty of great friends that are RAs and are also awesome, lovely people. But like, let me live my life. No I can’t go to the floor meeting at 10pm, I have a 9 page paper due tomorrow at 8am. And yes, this is regular lemonade. It’s totally not spiked with vodka. I get that they have a job to do, but I don’t need a babysitter who is practically my own age.
4. Knocks on your door at 2am on a Tuesday night
That emoji is my spirit animal. Getting a knock on my door late at night was super exciting freshman year: *Is this the invitation to the glow stick party at 144 main street I’ve been waiting for???* Now as a senior, I value my sleep. I have an internship to get to in the morning, ya jerk (that’s putting it nicely).
5.The “no cars on campus” rule
“The cafeteria food sucks, I need to go grocery shopping. OH WAIT I DON’T HAVE A CAR ON CAMPUS.” Or maybe, we just want to spend 10 hours at the mall and stock up all the totally necessary clothes that we don’t have yet. Not being allowed to have a car on campus is a real struggle sometimes. Is this college or am I an inmate in a state prison? Idk anymore.
6. The “washer and dryer”
The devices that they call “washing and drying machines” at colleges are a disgrace. At least 2 items of my clothing get ruined each time I put a load in. I’ve resorted to creating a makeshift clothesline that runs from wall to wall in my room to dry clothes on so that they don’t shrink 4 sizes in the dryer. One time I put a load of ONLY whites in, and all my socks came out purple. To this day, I’m not sure what happened. The worst part is that this isn’t included as part of room & board – I have to reload a laundry card with cash.
7. Never being alone
Some people hate being alone. I, on the other hand, value it from time to time. My poor roommate has to listen to me shuffling around early in the morning when I have class at 8am and she doesn’t til noon, and vice versa. I’d rather not make small talk in an elevator after having a not so good day. And really, can’t I just watch Parks and Rec without having to listen to…banging…coming from the room next door? Again, college, just let me live my life in peace.
Do you like living on campus?
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