Although Monmouth University is only an hour and a half drive from my home in north New Jersey, as a freshman, I was scared.
As an only child, I was attached to my parents, my pets and my own bed. Moving into a cement walled dorm was the furthest thing away from what I wanted to do, but I had a dream of going to college and getting a degree.
As we began to unload the pick-up truck, bringing tubs and boxes filled with clothes and memories, I only had one saving grace. I would be living in a room with my childhood best friend.
In my experience, living with a friend that I had prior to coming to college was a huge benefit. My friend and I already knew so much about each other that we didn’t have to break the ice.
Any awkward feelings I would have had with a stranger weren’t present with my friend in the room, which was a huge plus for me.
She knew my weird habits and I knew hers and we could talk about any new worries or frustrations we had about school. Not only was it comforting living with someone I knew, but she was also a constant reminder of home.
When I didn’t have my mom or dad to talk to, she was always there. In the first semester of college, this was an extremely lucky thing to have.
Even though I lived in a room with my hometown best friend, we also lived in a suite with six other girls.
At first, we seemed like the outcasts, separate from the crowd because we were already comfortable enough with each other. Over the course of the first week at school, we got to know the six other girls better.
Within a year, we were a tightknit group of friends that couldn’t be separated, whether it was dinner trips to the Dining Hall or hanging out at the beach.
Living in a suite gave me an advantage to meet new people because if I lived in a traditional dorm with just my friend, I don’t think we would have branched out as much.
As two shy personalities, we would not have been brave enough to make many new acquaintances. In the suite-style dorm, we were forced to live among six other strangers who eventually became great friends.
I’m glad I got the chance to live not only with my best friend, but with other girls I didn’t previously know, because it really did give me the best of both worlds.
My suggestion to others would be to step outside of your comfort zone and meet new people.
If you have a friend from home, you’ll definitely have an advantage of living with someone you already know.
However, if you haven’t lived with them in the past, it may cause problems in your relationship (in my case, this luckily didn’t happen). Just make sure that if you do live with someone you know, don’t close yourself in and refuse to meet new people.
If you live with someone you’ve never met, take advantage of the opportunities it can bring. The stranger in your dorm room may turn out to be a lifelong friend.
PHOTO TAKEN from Facebook.com/TaylorKelly
