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Dormitory Blues
By Rebecca Andrus
 Rebecca Andrus -- Guest Column
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So it’s move-in day, and there I was standing outside Sherburne, gazing up in awe at the building that would soon be my place of residence. I’d be living on the very top floor and have the best view in St. Cloud. Yay. Little do I know that what awaited me was a torturous day of hauling my things up 13 flights of stairs and waiting in line for the elevator.
But moving in day horrors aside, life in the dorms isn’t that bad. Sure, my neighbors might walk in unannounced when I’m trying to work, and there always seems to be some idiot down the hall shouting at their friends and/or TVs, and the people who brought stereo systems and only play the groups I can’t stand very loudly when I’m trying to sleep or study. Oh, and the elevators keep breaking down, and it’s hotter than the sun in the room at night, and I’ve eaten at Garvey twice and am sick of the food there already, but really, I don’t mind it.
What makes up for it all is the one morning I woke up and staggered into the hallway at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m., and then registered the crude and obscene images that mysteriously appeared overnight. Also a cherished memory is the time the fire alarm was going off all evening because idiots kept using the fire doors. Ah, dorm life.
I realize that dorms are ok in theory, but I for one don’t like living in public places. That’s why my bed isn’t in the post office. I’m not homesick, but I do miss privacy. At least at my parent’s houseI didn’t have to hear my drunken neighor pounding on the door and yelling for a half an hour because she thought she lost her keys.
Call me anti-social for not liking it when half drunken boys let themselves into my room when I am trying to wallow in my geekiness while watching Japanese animation.
That’s another thing: drunkeness. I’ve never been a big party-goer myself, but I don’t begrudge people and their hobbies. However I get a bit persnickety when partiers start shouting, howling, and screaming right below my window at 2:30 in the morning. It’s lucky for them I’m lazy, or else I’d have actually gotten up and done something about it.
At least I didn’t get stuck with an unbearable rooommate. I’d feared that I would be stuck with an annoying, inconsiderate, judgmental, ditzy type. Imagine my surprise when I find that my roommate not only doesn’t hate me on sight, but we actually seem to have similar tastes. We can hang out together and not want to kill each other. Yay.
Living in the dorms can be a bit intimidating and frustrating, but at least I am right on campus. I need to be, with my sense of direction. It’s the second full week of classes and I still get lost on my way to half of them. At least I can usually see my building. Also you get to meet more people in an informal environment.
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