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Yo, whether you’re movin’ into the dorm as a freshman or a senior lookin’ for a sick house close to campus, chances are you gonna be livin’ with roommates. Ain’t many college students who live solo ’cause that sh*t’s too damn expensive. In college towns, rent for a single apartment can go all the way up to $750 a month. Now that might not seem like much, maybe it ain’t no biggie if your parents coverin’ it, but for most students, $750 a month is straight up unreasonable. So, the answer to slashin’ that rent is roommates. In this article I’ma talk about the good and the bad of livin’ with roomies, how to find ’em, and I’ma throw in some of my own experiences along the way. This gonna be a two-part post ’cause it’s gonna be a long ride. Part I gonna dive into dorm life, while Part II gonna be all about life after the dorms.

Now, just graduated college in April of 2005, so I reckon I’m somewhat of an expert when it comes to the college livin’ life. Ain’t much changed in them few months I been on my own. Livin’ by myself for the first time, and let me tell ya, it’s a whole different ballgame than bein’ in college.

Most students start off their college journey livin’ in the dorms. When I moved in, I chose an old-fashioned dorm. Had ’bout twenty-ish rooms on the floor and one bigass communal bathroom. They even had a lounge/kitchen with one dang stove, one oven, a few couches, and a TV. Definitely ain’t the same as livin’ at home with your own bedroom and bathroom, lemme tell ya. Most dorms (especially them old-fashioned ones) don’t have no single rooms. Everybody got a roommate, and sometimes you got triples crammed in there. Most schools give you the option to pick your own roommate or they just randomly assign you one. My freshman year, I chose to live with a friend. But let me tell ya, you better be real good friends with that person or else y’all might end up wantin’ to kill each other. Got so many friends who ended up hatin’ their roommates. They was cool on the outside, but once they was stuck in that room together, it was straight up hell.

I was lucky for the first semester of college. Got along with my roommate pretty well, for the most part. We lived separate lives, which was a good thing. I was on the meal plan and that fool wasn’t. We had different class schedules and hung out with different crews too. In my book, that’s how it gotta be if you choose to live with a friend. Can’t be too damn close or your friendship gonna crumble. (By the way, the dorms I’m talkin’ ’bout here are them small-ass rooms with two twin beds, two desks, and barely enough room to stand up. Them newfangled dorms where you got your own room and bathroom, whole different story.) So, my friend who I roomed with ended up bouncin’ and transferring to a new school after our first semester for various reasons. I thought I hit the jackpot. School wouldn’t find out, right? I’d get the whole room to myself, right? Wrong.

Enter Kraut (that’s what we called my new roommate from Germany). He was American, but grew up on a military base in Germany. Let me tell you, livin’ with this complete stranger who was the total opposite of me was one of the best and the worst things that happened in college. This right here, this is every freshman’s worst nightmare. Andrew (aka Kraut, but please don’t take offense to it, it was just a friendly joke between us) moved in with me ’cause he got voted outta a triple dorm room by his previous roomies. Damn. After a semester livin’ with him, now I understand why they voted his ass out.

First off, he was in the ROTC. I ain’t got nothin’ against bein’ a proud American and wantin’ to serve in the military, but when you gotta wake up at 4:00 AM every damn morning to go run with that squadron, that’s when I start losin’ my sh*t. His damn alarm would go off at 3:45 AM every single day and he’d snooze that motherf*cker for ’bout 30 minutes. Fool never even went to class, so he was there annoyin’ the hell outta me on all my free time. And don’t even get me started on the video game obsession. Dude was playin’ Counter-Strike all night long with the sound turned up. You’d think my damn dorm room was a war zone. I tried hangin’ out with him, eatin’ lunch together in the cafeteria, but hell nah, I just couldn’t take it. Learned a whole damn lot from Kraut and I’ll never forget him. Most memorable moment gotta be when I cranked up the volume on my PC and blasted the Salute Your Shorts theme song right in his ear while he was sleepin’. Caught that sh*t all on video. He flipped me off and went back to bed. Haven’t seen Kraut since I moved outta the dorm.

Now, let’s talk ’bout some of them pros and cons of livin’ in them dorms (once again y’all, I’m talkin’ ’bout them old-fashioned ones, not them fancy-schmancy apartment-style joints).

Pro – Right on campus. You can roll outta bed five minutes before class and stroll there in nothin’ but your boxers.

Pro – Right on campus. Food is nearby (especially if you on a meal plan).

Pro – Social life. Livin’ in them dorms, you meet a whole lotta new folks. Some turn into lifelong friends. Dorms always got mini-parties and social events where everybody chill together.

Pro – It’s new. College is ’bout tryin’ new sh*t. Dorm life, that’s one of ’em.

Pro – It’s cheap. Nowhere near as pricey as rentin’ an apartment.

Pro – Easy to find pick-up games for sports.

Pro – There’s an ethernet computer network. High-speed internet access and everybody connected. Perfect for playin’ video games. (Back when I was a freshman, sh*t like Napster was brand spankin’ new. Folks was downloadin’ music left and right on that high-speed network, sharin’ tunes like there’s no tomorrow. And as far as we knew, it was all legal.)

Con – No privacy. Folks just walk into your room like it’s no big deal. Keep that sh*t locked.

Con – Them old, dirty dorms ain’t no fun. I got sick ’bout once a month livin’ in there. Still got breathin’ problems from it.

Con – Dorms hella small. No way you gonna fit all your stuff in that damn closet.

Con – Dealin’ with annoyin’ roommates and you can’t do a damn thing about it.

Con – Internet firewalls. Some dorms bein’ real strict now ’bout what you can and can’t do on the school’s internet. Sorry y’all, no music downloadin’ allowed.

Con – Cookin’ food can be a real pain. You got no fridge or oven up in your room.

Con – Bugs and rats, man. Dependin’ on how old your dorm is (mine was built in the ’40s, I reckon), you might just spot them rodents runnin’ ’round. We had a rat problem one week. Saw one scurry right across my floor and disappear into the wall.

Well, that’s all I got for today. Come on back tomorrow (or Monday) for Part II of College Roommates. If y’all got any questions, email me at collegesos@yahoo.com

http://collegesos.com/

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Ihab Salloum