What to expect the first semester living in a dorm room

Greetings graduating class of 2023! Welcome to an exciting new chapter in your life! For those living in the residence halls, here are a few things to expect in your first semester living in the dorm rooms.

Think of the new dorm room experience like the stages of a relationship; romance, struggle, stability, commitment, then bliss. The first stage, the “romance stage,” is the excitement and enthusiasm that’s reverberating throughout the hall since students are experiencing the same thing together. You will see RAs hosting many social events to help break the ice and build a community, the golden opportunity to meet new people.

Next comes to the “struggle stage.” This may happen after 2.5 months living in the residence halls. Students are this point know each other by now, have gotten familiar with class schedules, etc. This period may also introduce conflict between roommates or hall mates. This party is tricky since conflict is something people like to avoid because it can get awkward and messy. We totally get it but conflict can help people get through tough situations, and provides opportunities to grow and change. We could write an entire thesis on communication but we just want you to know that it’s okay if these situations rise up.

For the next stage, we are going to combine stability, commitment, and bliss into one stage. This period marks the calm after the storm, a period that offers rest and enjoyment after being able to work through differences. So how do you keep on going on a positive path? Keep doing doing exciting and challenging activities together and suspend any judgement.

Living in a residence hall will give you experiences you will hold near and dear forever. Have a great semester!

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