7 Things Dorm Life Has Taught Me About Myself

Well, folks... I have finally come to understand, at the ripe old age of twenty, what it means to be "busy." Today began my second official week at my new school and I just finished my first paper of the semester. Yeah. I already have a paper due tomorrow and another one due Thursday. Ahem... Not cool. Anyway, part of my changing schools involved moving into a dorm for the first time -and it has definitely been an experience... In the past week and a half, I have learned several things about myself.

1. I do not require much space to live. Adorable microhome, here I come! Not really. I'm not quite there, yet. Seriously, living in the dorms has forced me to examine my personal space closely. Because there is limited space, I am forced to put things back where they belong because it just won't fit any other way.
2. I can't make coffee. Y'all, I have this cute little 5-cup coffeepot that I am absolutely in love with. It's the perfect size for my desk and it serves my purposes just fine. There's just one problem. My coffee recipe has yet to be perfected. The first morning I made coffee, I took a sip of it and it was so strong that I almost did one of those spit-takes like you seen in the sitcoms. My gosh, it was strong! When I poured my cereal that morning, I didn't know if I needed to eat it or feed it to the coffee... Now, I will say that the coffee has improved, but it's still not perfect. I'll get there, though. Maybe.

   

   My desk area. Yes... Believe it or not, everything is pretty much in its place. Sad, isn't it?

3. I don't need total darkness to sleep. I used to require total darkness to sleep. At home when I go to bed, I have no nightlight, the blinds are closed, my door is shut, and all lights in the hallway are off. Otherwise, I have a hard time getting to sleep. Here, there is ALWAYS light shining into our room -be it from the streetlight, the porch light, or car lights. It's ridiculous, but I've slowly gotten used to it. I can sleep without total darkness. Whether or not my melatonin gets activated and whether or not I sleep well are different matters completely...
4. I don't need complete silence to sleep. Between cars driving by, my housemates coming in at night, and my two roommates talking to each other in their sleep, there's just no hope for complete silence at night. I really hope my roommates don't kill me for this... I mean, people talk in their sleep... and they're best friends. It happens. Right? :)
5. I get more done when I'm in control of my own schedule. Despite what my mother probably believes, I am far more productive at school than I am at home -even with no one to remind me to do things. I suppose it's a responsibility thing. I do what I have to do because I have to do it and no one else is going to do it for me. Plain and simple.
6. I need time alone. As an only child and a fairly social creature, I used to get so bored when I would have to stay at home alone all day. "I'm so sick of being alone!" I used to complain. Well, living in a house with ten other girls (no matter how much I like them) has made me realize that there is nothing wrong with alone time. In fact, everyone NEEDS some alone time. Because I'm fairly sociable, I don't need much, but that half hour of solitude here and here is nice... and then I'm ready to see people again.
7. I hate the number 6. Getting up at 6:00AM, getting back to my dorm at 6:00PM with four or more hours left to kill before bedtime, and only six things on a list when seven is a much better number. ;)

Alright... That's my post for today. Wednesday, I will be posting a writing challenge for the more creative people to attempt and Friday will hopefully be a funny story that someone requested. Have a blessed week! :)