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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> College, dorms, and roomates...oh my!
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 08/24/2004 01:48:28 AM · #1
So yeah...I move onto campus tomorrow and I'm getting a little freaked out... You know, the jitters before a big event...except I know this one's gonna last for several months...

Yes, I'm still close to home (30 mins), my boyfriend isn't across the country (1 hour away), and I am going to a pretty awesome school. It's just...daunting.

But...I'm leaving my parents, dogs, and well, life...most of my friends are going to school elsewhere in the state and only 1 person from my tiny high school is coming to my college...and I barely know him.

My roomate is from China. HOW do I pronounce her name? I have no idea... Do I know anything about her...of course not... I hope it'll be fun though, I'd love to learn about China, and well, I checked that box that said "Yes, I would like the opportunity to room with an international student" because I thought it'd be fun. ^_^

The dorm's no big deal I guess, except for the fact that I might have guys living next door, um, eek? At least I'm on the "substance free" floor so there's no worries about that.

So...anyone else heading off this year or already there?
 08/24/2004 01:53:03 AM · #2
I'm the pizza guy for a major college campus (MSU Go Green) so I hear all kinds of storys good and bad! Just get through the first year and things will be all right!
 08/24/2004 01:55:29 AM · #3
You'll love it, Ann! My 4 years in the dorm at my College are some of the happiest memories of my life. Yes, you'll feel homesick a for a few days but it will pass very quickly.

It makes me wish I was young again. Be sure to post often to tell us what is happening with your college life.

Good luck and much happiness.
 08/24/2004 01:59:58 AM · #4
;p

Message edited by author 2004-08-24 02:00:14.
 08/24/2004 02:19:23 AM · #5
Originally posted by Ami Yuy:
The dorm's no big deal I guess, except for the fact that I might have guys living next door, um, eek? At least I'm on the "substance free" floor so there's no worries about that.

So...anyone else heading off this year or already there?


Thats really cool that you have a foreign roommate... But anyways coed dorms are really cool, and depending on how your floor is organized you might really start to feel just like a big family. Im starting my third year this year at Brown and loving it. Our school was actually supposed to start co-ed rooms this year but someone in the administration 'forgot' to put it on the freshman info checksheet. Speaking from experience, try to meet as many people as you can during the first week especially your neighbours etc, infact go to lunch/dinner at the cafeteria with them... till today i have friday dinners with two of my neighbours from freshman year and its really cool since sometimes when we are really busy that we dont get to talk so often. Ummm, have an open mind to everything (or most things) but dont over do anything. Oh and try to find common ground with your roommate and do stuff together, also agree on quiet hours, policy on visiting boyfriends (unexpected exiled roommates are usually not friendly roommates) and other stuff i cant think of right now... remember to enjoy yourself, try to go to parties a few weekends, be active, work out a few times a week, oh and have fun.

Message edited by author 2004-08-24 02:21:27.
 08/24/2004 02:26:43 AM · #6
Originally posted by nico_blue:
Thats really cool that you have a foreign roommate... But anyways coed dorms are really cool, and depending on how your floor is organized you might really start to feel just like a big family. Im starting my third year this year at Brown and loving it. Our school was actually supposed to start co-ed rooms this year but someone in the administration 'forgot' to put it on the freshman info checksheet. Speaking from experience, try to meet as many people as you can during the first week especially your neighbours etc, infact go to lunch/dinner at the cafeteria with them... till today i have friday dinners with two of my neighbours from freshman year and its really cool since sometimes when we are really busy that we dont get to talk so often. Ummm, have an open mind to everything (or most things) but dont over do anything. Oh and try to find common ground with your roommate and do stuff together, also agree on quiet hours, policy on visiting boyfriends (unexpected exiled roommates are usually not friendly roommates) and other stuff i cant think of right now... remember to enjoy yourself, try to go to parties a few weekends, be active, work out a few times a week, oh and have fun.


Thanks for the advice! I'm really not that social, but I can be when forced (one reason I went for moving into the dorms my first year rather than later). Lol, my boyfriend and I won't run the risk of "exiling" my roomate cause well, we don't do anything that can't be seen by our parents (*coughs* I'm one of the people who's decided to save my first kiss for my husband, and well that includes anything else...). So...open mind...well that I'll "work" on...but that doesn't mean I think it's okay. ^_^

Thanks again!
 08/24/2004 02:30:14 AM · #7
what school are you attending?
 08/24/2004 02:31:22 AM · #8
Champan University, it's a nice small private school (which thankfully liked me enough - well gradewise at least - to give me a scholarship for about half the tuition).

Message edited by author 2004-08-24 02:32:10.
 08/24/2004 02:37:57 AM · #9
If it's any consolation Ami, in exactly 10 days I'll be in a very similar situation!

I'll be moving to Victoria, living in residence to pursue a double fine arts major - theatre and visual arts. I'm gonna be a little farther away though, 12 hours from home, and infinity from a gf - DAMN I'm as single as they come ;-)

Just think though, would you rather be spending another year in high school??

I know I sure as hell wouldn't!

Lee


08/24/2004 02:46:34 AM · #10
Sometimes I wonder how life would have been had I gone to college instead of joining the Navy. Although I live in the barracks, for what I hear, it is a far cry from a college dorm, and frankly, I feel deprived of the experience. I would have graduated in 2003 and would probably be in graduate school by now....broke. Instead, I've lived in Chicago, the Greater DC Metro Area, and now Naples, Italy. I've been to England, Latvia, Lithuania, Baharain, France, Belgium, and Egypt. I'm not even close to an Associate Degree, but have tons of money saved. I guess sometimes you gotta make some sacrifices, you know, win some lose some. I will go to college full time when I get out in a year and half, and I will go to graduate school. I'll be a little older than normal, yes, but I won't be broke, and in my opinion, I will have a better sense of what I really want and I will be doing what I really want to do and be there cause I really want to be there. I guess it's not so bad in the end. I will have missed the dorm experience, but I will have gained so much more.

June
 08/24/2004 03:06:07 AM · #11
School starts tomorrow for me; I moved into the fraternity house about a week ago - it's nice having a single room. =) I already have a year's experience at the whole college thing and I must say, it's nice too sit back and watch the Freshmen scurry about completely clueless. :)

I'm going to school at the University of North Dakota... yea... rural North Dakota sucks but I couldn't turn down the swimming scholarship and they have a pretty decent Aviation/Computer Science program.

Anywho, good luck with the roomate and school. A new environment should provide some new photographic inspiration eh?
 08/24/2004 03:16:07 AM · #12
Originally posted by VisiBlanco:
...I must say, it's nice too sit back and watch the Freshmen scurry about completely clueless. :)

Anywho, good luck with the roomate and school. A new environment should provide some new photographic inspiration eh?


Heh, that'll be me. -_- All freaked out about getting to class on time and everything...I'm a stress case sometimes...

I sure hope so. ^_^ It's a beautiful campus and I hope people will take me for a photography student or something (even though I don't have time to take it yet) when I'm snapping random photos of things. ^_^
 08/24/2004 06:22:47 AM · #13
Living away from home for the first time can be stressful but it's the same for all the others in your dorm so don't feel like you're the only one who is a little scared about all the new things you will encounter. Your roomie will probably be feeling it more than you.
You will have experiences that will give memories for a lifetime and make friendships that will last that long too. All the little problems will pass and seem inconsequential in time. Freshman year is a unique experience, enjoy it to the fullest by embracing new opportunities instead of fretting about the things you miss. Your boyfriend, pets, parents, and your friends here at dpc, will all be around if you need them.
 08/24/2004 06:27:30 AM · #14
You guys just starting college... remember these tips.

Good luck to you guys... it's a great experience, a little scary, and you will forever be a better person because of it. :o)
 08/26/2004 02:15:52 AM · #15
Thanks everyone and thanks to those who sent me PMs too. ^_^ It's really nice to be a part of this community and to know that people are here pretty much 24/7 to talk to. ^_^

Anyway...

My roomate has not appeared yet...It's weird. We moved me in at 10AM yesterday, but she never showed. Then later we come back and her stuff is on the bed and desk...Eh...

Here it is a full day and a half later and I know nothing more than that she is from Taiwan, went to an American school in Singapore, and she likes Choir and Math...Oh, and I have a photo of her (they did a kind of Freshmen yearbook so that we could get to know our classmates), but for some reason, I can't recognize her out there...

Otherwise, I've met one person that I've seen several times at anime conventions, so that's very cool, especially since she's in my dorm. ^_^ I've also met a guy who likes anime (Japanese animation) and manga (japansese comics) and we talked for a bit, but he got distracted by a guy Japanese student and then I started talking with a girl Japanese student, with whom I'm now friends. She's going to be in at least one of my classes and she has offered to help me learn Japanese and I'm going to help her with her English reading. ^_^

So, needless to say, despite the ups and downs, it's gone quite well.

My parents went home this evening after their final day of Orientation...now...I'm on my own to find someone to go with...

My room's organized and comfy and my new laptop (Which I've affectionately named "Zero One"...don't ask ^_^) is awesome. I'm slowly getting my software loaded and I'll deal with the printer whenever I need to. -_- Hehe, I've got WIRELESS internet if I'm on campus and Ethernet on campus if I plug in!!! Dude...it's like 11.0 Mbps...so awesome... My dad did buy me an external hard drive, so I have all my photos (well most) with me, including all of my files from the past 4 years from the old computer...dang this rocks. ^_^

So, all that's left is to get a photo program (I'm gonna see if the computer people or the photography people can give me a program so I don't have to wait until Christmas to get Paint Shop Pro), figure out the brightness and such on this screen, and start to catch up on my editing. ^_^

Message edited by author 2004-08-26 02:16:31.
 08/26/2004 02:37:34 AM · #16
Originally posted by laurielblack:
You guys just starting college... remember these tips.

Good luck to you guys... it's a great experience, a little scary, and you will forever be a better person because of it. :o)


"Tip number 2. If an 8:00 am class is required for your major, change your major"

Funny enough that was one of the reasons I switched majors the first week of college :-)
I had Foundation Art on M and W at 8:00 and Intro engineering on T and Th at 8:00... I wasnt getting enough sleep so the only solution was to drop one of them. Foundation art is required to take any other art class and Intro Engineering is required to take any other engin class, I was in a real dilemma! After 5 minutes of careful soul searching I decided that art was more important to me. I then looked for a major that I had some interest in and didnt have early classes (and would be approved by my parents) and found Neuroscience... two years on that was perhaps one of the best decisions I have made so far in college :-)
 08/26/2004 02:41:56 AM · #17
Glad you are all moved in to your dorm, Ann. It shouldn't be long before things get to normal with the whole roommate thing. Building a workable relationship with a roommate is a very good skill to have in life - I had three roommates in my 4 years in the dorm (long, long ago!) and it has really helped with getting along with people in work relationships and even in my 26 years married to my husband.

Your computer set up sounds really nice. When I was in college calculators were just getting invented - it would have been so cool to have a computer! I had the first calculator on my floor and everyone came to borrow it. Now, I bet all the students have their own computers - tech stuff has changed so much in 31 years but people stuff has stayed the same.

Hope you get a chance to take some pictures and post so we can all see what your campus looks like.
 08/26/2004 03:02:40 AM · #18
I was going to apply to chapman, as well as bunch of other school, but got lazy senior year and didn't apply anywhere! Now that kind of sucked as I'm currenty stuck at a Cal State instead of a UC.

I could try and transfer, but I'm too lazy to do that, plus I'm at a decent school for my major, so it's worked out all right.

I have a friend that goes to Chapman, getting her masters in film. She likes it there.

It's good you're enjoying it so far. I'm a junior, but I finally moved out myself. Not om campus, but in an apartment with a friend of mine about five minutes away. I've been here almost two months, definitely enjoying it. Not too happy to be back at school, but anyway.
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