1 answer
Giana
Student
Salinas, California
1
Question
Asked
156 views
What should I know about before being in a dorm room?
This up coming fall I am going away to school. I have never experienced being in a dorm or with people I'm not close with. I just want to have more knowledge about about what I should expect or things I need etc.
Login to comment
1 answer
Thomas O'Shea
Music Producer, Composer, Live Sound Engineer, Musician
135
Answers
Madison, Wisconsin
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
Hey Giana, sounds like you're in a similar situation I was in when I was a Freshman in school. Here's my two cents.
1. It will be loud. Not all the time, not during finals or anything. But if you have never shared a room or living space with anyone besides your family, it WILL come as a shock to you. Loud bass-y music, shouting (sometimes), really any talking in the hallway, people coming back from parties- you will hear all of it.
2. You will hear or witness things not meant for your ears and it may be something you really don't want to hear. I don't want to go into too much detail here, but I'll just say that noise cancelling headphones will be your friend.
3. Bathrooms. The bathrooms are not going to be a fun experience but if you keep to yourself and pay attention to when there's a lot of traffic through them to avoid it, you'll be fine.
Please don't feel discouraged or worried about dorms though. Even though there are some bad things, I don't regret living in a dorm at all. I met some of my closest friends and some really cool people from living in a dorm, and I have many fond memories from that time. Here's some things I did that really helped my dorm experience.
1. For the first week of orientation and school (at least the first week maybe even longer) leave your door open during the day when you are in your room. This is how you will meet people. You might become great friends, you might never speak again but the important thing is that you work on meeting people.
2. Your dorm will most likely host events like game nights, free food nights, movie nights, or something else fun. Go to them. That's how you meet other people in your dorm who are not on your floor. Again- great way to meet people and be social.
3. Don't stay in your dorm room all the time- if you're away then the noise won't bother you and you'll feel better because your room will be only where you sleep, finish homework, or unwind after a long day.
Living in a dorm was one of the best parts of college because it taught me how to live on my own with support. So keep an open mind and have fun.
1. It will be loud. Not all the time, not during finals or anything. But if you have never shared a room or living space with anyone besides your family, it WILL come as a shock to you. Loud bass-y music, shouting (sometimes), really any talking in the hallway, people coming back from parties- you will hear all of it.
2. You will hear or witness things not meant for your ears and it may be something you really don't want to hear. I don't want to go into too much detail here, but I'll just say that noise cancelling headphones will be your friend.
3. Bathrooms. The bathrooms are not going to be a fun experience but if you keep to yourself and pay attention to when there's a lot of traffic through them to avoid it, you'll be fine.
Please don't feel discouraged or worried about dorms though. Even though there are some bad things, I don't regret living in a dorm at all. I met some of my closest friends and some really cool people from living in a dorm, and I have many fond memories from that time. Here's some things I did that really helped my dorm experience.
1. For the first week of orientation and school (at least the first week maybe even longer) leave your door open during the day when you are in your room. This is how you will meet people. You might become great friends, you might never speak again but the important thing is that you work on meeting people.
2. Your dorm will most likely host events like game nights, free food nights, movie nights, or something else fun. Go to them. That's how you meet other people in your dorm who are not on your floor. Again- great way to meet people and be social.
3. Don't stay in your dorm room all the time- if you're away then the noise won't bother you and you'll feel better because your room will be only where you sleep, finish homework, or unwind after a long day.
Living in a dorm was one of the best parts of college because it taught me how to live on my own with support. So keep an open mind and have fun.