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Things I’ll miss about dorm life — and things I won’t

Humor Columnist Wardah Kamran reminisces about her dorm room experiences

Humor Columnist Wardah Kamran reminisces about her dorm room experiences
Humor Columnist Wardah Kamran reminisces about her dorm room experiences

So, the school year has finally come to a close and most students have moved out. The end of the year is not only a very exciting time, but also a stressful one. However, even in the aftermath of a swirling tornado of work, I find myself beginning to reminisce on all the good things I have experienced while living out my first year in dorms.

For starters, I am so happy to have met so many different people and to have been able to form friendships with those on my floor and in my building. Dorm life really forces you to just see the same people over and over again. So, if you didn’t introduce yourself the first time to someone, you will just keep seeing that person until it gets so awkward that one of you, at last, has to say something or smile to avoid dying from the cringeworthy silence. Even if it's a conversation when you’re brushing your teeth and your mouth is foaming with toothpaste like a dog with rabies, it's better to say something than awkwardly stare at yourself in the mirror pretending you didn’t see the person a mere couple of feet away from you.

I am also thankful for all the juicy gossip I’ve heard in the bathroom. One time, while I was washing my face, I overheard someone talking about how Ryan broke up with Sydney, only to then get together with Josie. But the funny thing is Josie actually likes Ryan’s roommate Billy, so there is bound to be some drama. And people say my Friday nights are boring. The sound of music in the hallways and showers was also very nice. That movie really should have been called College Musical instead of “High School Musical.” I think the music in the showers was the best, especially when it was country. I don’t think I’ve ever taken such a fast shower in my life. But every now and then, I would hear someone playing Olivia Rodrigo and come out of the shower an hour later with puffy eyes.

Even with all of these fun things about dorm life, there, surprisingly, were still some things that weren’t the best. For example, the random banging on doors and screaming at 3 a.m. Not the biggest fan. I get it, it's a Saturday night and everyone's out partying, but why are you screaming? What’s the reason? And it's not even like the screaming makes sense, it's completely unintelligible. If you're trying to communicate with an alien species, Woody is not the place to be doing it.

Something more personal that I may not entirely miss is my roommate sleeping. Now my roommate is just fine, but when she loses consciousness, I can’t stand her. First of all, when she goes to sleep before me, I feel bad about staying up. Like, am I a bad student if I want to stay up until 2 a.m. watching MasterChef? But on top of that, when I do end up staying awake after my roommate has gone to bed, I’m bound to hear “it.” And when I mean “it,” I don’t mean her snoring. At least with snoring it's rhythmic so you can tune it out, but what she does is far from rhythmic. My roommate talks in her sleep and, every now and then, while I’m watching Gordon Ramsey flame someone for having undercooked meat, I’ll hear a very loud “Oh no, I have a class at 8” or “Did you remember to put the socks in the washing machine?” and then dead silence. Do you understand the amount of fear I feel when I hear these sudden outbursts? I have even started to sleep early so that I am not subject to random statements in the middle of the night. How would you like it if someone unconsciously told you off?

But, nonetheless, the school year has come to an end and I will no longer be able to experience any of these things again, good or bad. Maybe it's for the better. Though, I do wonder what happened between Ryan and Josie.

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