Dorm and Residence Living

Entering a New World

When getting ready for college everyone has preconceived notions about what dorm life will be like. It’s usually based off of what is portrayed in movies, but very seldom is that the case. Dorm life so far has not been what was expected to say the least. Between having to deal with the difference in personalities, communal facilities and spaces, and being considered partially independent, this new found living has been nothing short of a major adjustment. Coming into college the thought process begins to switch from adolescent and immature to adult-like and responsible, at least that’s what should happen. Students walk onto university grounds and get that room assignment and think, “it’s finally happening”. So excited to be on campus and in dorms, around people going through similar experiences, then the realization that things wont be all good all the time kicks in. For instance, having to walk down the hall just to use the bathroom and finding other peoples bodily fluids on the toilets and used tissues everywhere, or encountering clogged drains causing showers to overflow, and even clumps of hair from several different people all over the floor, is not exactly the first image or the best image, that pops into the mind when college living comes up. In dealing with all of that, the silver lining would always be students are responsible for no one but themselves, right? No! This is not the case living with several hundred other people. Having to go from very little people in a household, with basically the same values to several different people and a plethora of attitudes and values can be extremely difficult to deal with. Granted everyone wont be on the same page all day every day, but having some type of uniformity in thoughts would make things easier. Now the problem becomes trying to combine the way one was trained to think and act with the way someone else was taught and attempting to find a middle ground so everyone is happy