OC...Living On Campus!!!

Today's "Oh College..." post is a tribute to living on campus.

So what is so great about living on campus?...
1. ROLLING out of bed 10 minutes before class starts...and still making it to class on time (yay!)
2. Having every meal prepared for you (courtesy of dining halls) -- well to be honest, depending on your school, this might be a bad thing, but at my school there were 6+ dining halls, so you had your options.
3. Full-on IHOP-esque breakfast on weekends (again courtesy of dining halls, shout out to the Summit at UCSD....unlimited scrambled eggs, hash browns, FRESH WAFFLES!, bacon, and sausage...yum.)
4. Rent free living for RA's. Definition of RA: An upperclassmen that lives in the dorms, residence halls, on campus apartments and is in charge of looking after a certain number of underclassmen. (Maybe we'll have a separate post about this)
5. You're smack dab in the middle of all that happens on-campus.
6. It's the easiest way to make friends, seriously! -- I attended an out of state university and did not know ONE SINGLE person on-campus, but living on-campus freshman year saved me from eternal loneliness (ok, maybe not eternal, I made friends everywhere, BUT living on-campus did allow me to make friends sooner, i.e., as soon as I set foot on campus)
7. You're best friend is next door to you, or a hallway away, or a 5 minute walk away...etc etc.

Ok so the good stuff was great, but what about the bad (sometimes downright gross) part about living on campus?:
1. Communal bathrooms (FOR EXAMPLE: sharing 2 sinks, toilets, and showers with 10 people....well really it's not too bad, you get used to it). This also depends on how dorms are set up at the school.
2. Dorms always smell weird somehow...
3. Dining hall food gets boring after awhile.
4. Room/house/apartment mate DRAMA!!!! -- my personal opinion is to NOT be ROOMMATES with your best friend from high school.
5. Communal bathrooms require you to either buy a robe or a very large towel. (PLEASE be sure IT IS SECURE before walking back to your room...)

So, like I said, good and bad things come in pairs, but honestly living on-campus is part of THE college experience (in my humble opinion). Commuting to campus tends to make it difficult to join in on all the fun, unless you're one of those super proactive people. If you DO commute your freshman year, try to make friends with people who live on campus, or join a couple of clubs. These are some of the best ways to get to know people and start your college life off right.

Oh, one thing about college life that's great, but has nothing to do with living on-campus: No one judges you when you walk around all day in PJ pants (they're so comfy....)