Observation #1: Seen in a residence window as the 4 downtown passed through Carleton - "I GAVE YOU CRABS" written on tacky brown paper in big block letters. Hmmm. I used to wonder if I missed out on some element of "university life" by not living in residence when I did my undergrad at UPEI because I lived at home. For free. With access to a car. A full refrigerator. Unlimited phone usage. Somebody looking out for me. And no idiotic statements like that taped to my window.
Sure there were things I didn't like about living at home, specifically as related to my privacy and my social life. "Where are you going? Are you going to be late? Will you be drinking? You don't be drinking if you're taking the car." I love my parents, but it was hard to be at home sometimes and often I yearned to have my own apartment or live in residence so I wouldn't have to deal with the constant attention. Then I moved into my first apartment and it was nice to go back home to visit, play with my dog, chat with my parents, have a good home cooked meal and do my laundry in a non-stinky laundry dungeon. Now that I'm even further away, I miss all those things that much more. But more than a few days at home and yes, my nerves to get stretched a bit, but I remember that it's only for a short time, and I don't actually live there anymore, and soon enough I'll be back in Ottawa wishing I was home on PEI.
I've heard people tell stories about living in "rez" and the shenanigans that accompanied it and I must admit, it all sounds like a lot of fun. Communal living is not really my cup of tea; perhaps if I had lived in residence at least for my first year, I would be a bit better with that. But I also did really well in university, and was able to work a part-time job with relatively low stress compared to people I know who lived in residence (mostly in other provinces), had to work, and keep their grades up so as to not lose their scholarships. How did our experiences differ? They probably had more late nights, more experimenting with drugs, alcohol and lots more sex. But they also had their share of cat fights, gross bathrooms, roommate issues (um, sometimes that doesn't change), no privacy, no peace and quiet, and a strong yen to get the hell out of there after first year. It's a personal thing I guess. I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on residence life and if it's worth it, or if I can ever really know if I "missed out" on anything. I don't feel that I had a bad uni experience. Most of my friends lived at home too, and we had many many nights of partying with all kinds of stuff that we still (or won't) talk about. Everyone's experience is different, and I'm sure rez life added another dimension to university life. I don't think it was for me, but that's just me. Maybe in another life I'll try it out. Probably not. I'm more likely to come back as a snail or something. But that's another observation for another time.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
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I hear you on res life. I lived at home through university because I was working a lot, it was free, I had access to a car, and to so many perks that living in res wasn't as appealing. Of course, the same thing applies the other way around - living at home isn't always so fun, either. I could have stood for a lot more freedom.
ReplyDeleteI think that in either case, you're going to miss something - whether it's the security of mom and dad around, or the freedom and the late nights, and the "when I lived in res" stories.
In a lot of ways, I wish I had lived in res so I could have gotten used to the whole roommate scene and dealing with living with other people. That's a new thing for me. So far? Not so fun.