Community Literacy: Dorm Life

      The transition from high school to college is a terrifying experience for everyone. Somewhere between throwing the cap in the air and registering for classes do you realize that everything is about to drastically change. And the thing is there's no way to explain the college experience to anyone who isn't in college simply because it is different for everyone. Freshman year is a year of transitioning and it's nearly impossible to predict how you personally are going to get through the year. Some people rely solely on their friends back home, refusing to open up; others have no problem broadening their horizons and going outside of their comfort zone. In my experience, the ones who enjoy their freshman year the most are the ones who form a solid group of friends on campus. This is why I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones.

True House - 132 S. Green Drive

      I moved into True House on September 2nd, 2011, a dorm located within the depths of South Green. When my parents drove away after unloading the infinite amount of shit I insisted on bringing with me, all I could do is look around and think "now what?" As I sat in my room, bored out of my mind, I decided to be adventurous and journey out into the mod area. Looking back, that was one of the greatest moves I could have made. My simple leap of faith encouraged other residents to wander out of their rooms as well. From the very beginning, all of us seemed to click extremely well. It was as if our energies simply played off of one another. Our personalities were compatible in ways that seemed almost surreal. There's no doubt in my mind that we became a family right from the start. 

       Our dysfunctional family started out with seven members; all of which were freshman. From there, our family grew by another six members - two being upperclassmen, one being from another floor, and three being from a completely different building. By week five of fall quarter, we acted as if we had known each other for years. It seemed unusual that we had only lived with each other for a few short weeks. As the quarter began to progress, however, family members started dropping off of the branches. We had lost five members by the end of the quarter. Not because of anything serious, simply just a conflict of interest. Even though the clan was down to eight members, we still managed to flourish and become even closer.
      There is no way I can even begin to describe how much these fucked up hooligans mean to me. Even though we have our arguments and disagreements, we still love each other at the end of the day. They are my friends, they are my family, they are my community.