Dorm Life

I’ve been at Holy Cross for nearly a semester now and I can say with certainty that I was very well prepared for the rigorous academic environment here on the Hill.  What I can also say with certainty is that I was NOT prepared for dorm life.  I thought I might be somewhat prepared considering the fact that I grew up in a family of six.  Nope.  I’m just not sure there’s anyway to prepare for living in very close quarters with lots of other dudes.

So what are some of the things that have taken some getting used to?  Showering in flip flops, separate stalls for 1 and 2, hauling a shower caddy to and from my room, getting stuff stolen if I accidentally leave it in the bathroom (happened to my razor), living with two other guys.  I’m in a forced triple.  That means my two roommates and I share a room that is supposed to accommodate two people.  Now, I’ve complained plenty about this.  It’s in no way an ideal situation.  The three of us and our belongings are packed into this small Wheeler room and when all is said and done there’s little room left over for us live in the place.  For a while, I’d wake up every Sunday and become completely fed up with how sucky the whole rooming situation was.  A couple Sundays ago, I decided to stop being mad and just accept the situation.  I decided to change my perspective.

My roommates, Nick and Luis, are great guys.  Slowly but surely we’re figuring out each other’s eccentricities.  Honestly, as far as roommates are concerned, I could have done A LOT worse.   It’s been nearly three months since we moved in and Luis or Nick have yet to throw up on my stuff, host any unwanted guests, or steal anything.  All three of these unfortunate scenarios have happened to many of my less fortunate friends.  If there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s that I’m very lucky to have such chill roommates.  I’m lucky to be here at Holy Cross.  I’m blessed.

It was about five months ago when I reluctantly sat down at the computer with my Mom to shop for bedding and the other dorm necessities.  Like all shopping trips, it took way too long and was unnecessarily tedious.  But it had to be done.  Anyway, as I browsed Amazon comparing different shower caddies and laundry bags I noticed something about the reviews I read for all of these items.  Most of the reviews were written by men and women serving in the military.  Reviews read, “Bought it and had it shipped to Afghanistan for my deployment…I ordered this for my current deployment in Iraq…I’m stationed in Afghanistan where the only means of washing laundry is…”  The reviews go on and on.

Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.  While I am here at Holy Cross, “roughing it” in my forced triple to receive a world renowned education, there are many brave men and women stationed around the world roughing it to defend our nation.  Today, tomorrow, and every day, let us remember them.  I can say with certainty that their struggles are much greater than mine.  I can say with certainty that they are sacrificing their lives so that we can be safe here at home.  Men and Women of the United States Military, I thank you.

Sometimes all it takes is a change in perspective…

This entry was posted on Monday, November 11th, 2013 at 3:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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