ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Movin’ on out
Knock, knock, knock. “Duty RA.”
“Can I check out my guests please, (insert last name here).”
“I simply can’t stand the food in the dining halls anymore.”
Those who live in an apartment never have to worry about things like this, and that is exactly why the countdown to moving out of the residence halls has begun for this year’s sophomores.
Christina Schreiber, a junior in the College of Health Sciences and resident of Humphrey Hall, said that life in an apartment was everything she had expected it to be, but it took longer to adjust to than she thought it would.
“There is so much more freedom,” said Schreiber. “I thought that it would be quieter and I would have more privacy with my own space to chill out and relax in. But I never realized how long it takes to adjust to the freedom an apartment offers.”
Sophomores getting ready to move out of the residence halls for the final time usually have high hopes and huge dreams for how amazing life will be in the real world. According to Schreiber, however, it’s hard to look past all the good to see what may be more difficult.
“Well, I expected there to be more freedom and a more difficult life than living in the residence halls due to the fact that we no longer have meal swipes,” said Michael Parreno, a junior in the College of Communication and Renee Row Apartments resident. “We now are responsible for our own food. And yeah, my predictions were pretty accurate.”
Oliver Vranjkovic, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, said he’s already had several discussions with his friends living in apartments about the good and bad things associated with life beyond the residence halls.
“One of the things that I’m really looking forward to is having my own kitchen,” Vranjkovic said. “Personally, I like to know what I’m eating, and I would like to be in control of the meal. Also, I’m going to enjoy the freedom of not having to deal with different issues that the residence halls have: curfew, noise policies and elevators.
Vraanjkovic added that one of his least favorite parts of living in a residence hall is the constant feeling of supervision by individuals such as resident assistants.
“I feel that I’m old and mature enough to make the right decisions without having people watching my back and punishing me for not doing something right,” Vranjkovic said.
But Schreiber noted that students often don’t realize how valuable RAs can be until after they leave the residence halls.
“They do the little things like build community and give you someone to rely on that apartments don’t usually have,” Schreiber said.
Parreno also said moving off-campus can be sad because instead of friends being down the hall or an elevator ride away, they’re down the block or ten blocks away, and it’s harder to see them.
“Be ready for the changes,” said Parreno. “You never know what might happen. And most importantly, make some freshmen and sophomore friends who will swipe you into the dining halls when you don’t want to cook.”
Tags: apartments, college, dining halls, dorms, life, living, off-campus, residence halls
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