I absolutely adore my dorm this year. I was rather unsure how it would be to live in the dorm for a third year, which is very unusual at my university, but I'm loving it in the first week. Here are some reasons why:
1. We got renovated over the summer. Sure, the rooms are all laid out in the same way, but it is amazing what some paint, lighting, and furniture can do to the place. Last year, everything was kind of old, dark, and worn out. This year, we have new lounge furniture, a table that isn't mysteriously sticky, fresh paint and wallpaper on the walls, new flooring on the first floor, and we came back to find a significant amount of power cleaning had been done. The desks and dressers have also been refreshed. I was concerned about moving off campus to a place less good in facilities than the dorm, but staying in the dorm ended up being an upgrade.
2. My room. It is at once familiar and freshened. I haven't had any trouble sleeping here because it is my room and feels like my room.
3. The changes I made to my bed. Since I knew what my bed would be like, I got myself a mattress topper, quilt, and body pillow for the return, and it is extra comfy now. It also changed the look of the room to have a different bedspread, so that's a fun bonus to the comfort.
4. The people. Last year, I had plenty of friends and I loved the community, but this year the residents really want to live here and be involved. There are always people in the lounges hanging out and ready to chat, and they never cease to make me smile. I've only known them for a week, but it feels like we've been friends a lot longer, and that never really happens.
5. The residents like the same things I do! The first person I introduced myself to loves Doctor Who, and upon meeting another, the first thing she said was, "Does anybody else like Buffy, Firefly, and Avatar the Last Airbender?" I had to give her a hug. On the same night, we had a Sound of Music, Potter Puppet Pals, and Starkid singalong. Nobody in China liked any of the things I liked, but now I can nerd out about my fandoms with people who understand.
I'm going to stop the list at five, but there are continually more and more things that I'm loving about living on campus this year. I don't think I realized how isolated from friends, people with similar interests, and constant laughter and excitement I was before coming back to school. That's not to say I wasn't happy and engaged; I totally was! I just was not constantly surrounded by people who get me and laugh with me. It was a sporadic surrounding, so for those of you who were in the sporadicness, thanks for making those parts of the summer awesome. I just feel great about being always around the awesome.
Today is awesome because it is the first weekend back at school, so there's farmers market, a football game, and, most importantly, DOCTOR WHO tonight. I'm having a viewing party in HD on our big lounge TV.
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