I know that some people definitely have a preference for where they live and what year to live there, and maybe before the COVID-19 pandemic I cared about that a bit more, but now my biggest concern is having a room to myself. Even now with three flatmates in my Circle apartment, I’m fine, but that’s because I don’t share a room with anyone, and I can just close my door to separate myself from the world. It’s not always that easy. The walls are thin and my upstairs neighbors tread pretty loudly against the floor, and I can always hear the peoples’ entire conversations as they walk past my window… even when it’s shut. 

With last week’s prompt, I talked about my only college roommate Steph Fine, well now I get to tell you about where we lived. My freshman year I lived in Rowland Hall 114, why do I still remember the exact room? Because it’s where a lot of my favorite memories were created. Rowland, my freshman year, was referred to as “Rowdy Rowland” and I didn’t understand how true it was until every week music was booming and people were screaming about something. Rowland was always lively and I always felt welcomed and happy there. I could say I knew about 50–75% of the building and that always made things crazier.

In my sophomore year, when I became a resident assistant (RA), I lived in the same building and the same room, partially because of my accommodations and partially because I just really liked that room. Most first-year RAs live in smaller single rooms, but I always lived in doubles because there were no single rooms adjusted for accommodations yet. 

In my junior year, for the part that was in person, I lived in East Tower on the second floor. As much as I loved living in my room, it was spacious and gave me the opportunity to spread out, I couldn’t handle living around residents anymore. Being a part of the first-year residential experience (FYRE) in my junior year felt a bit more taxing than it usually did. 

Going into my senior year, I knew I wouldn’t be an RA — I no longer wished to. Being an RA for so long, I had no idea who I would room with and if anyone still needed a roommate. I was lucky that I had 3 friends who didn’t have roommates yet. It’s funny, because I am the reason we are all living together. My roommates didn’t actually know each other before this, I am the only thing that ties us together. We’ve slowly been getting to know each other while living together and it’s been a lot of fun. I am grateful I get to spend my senior year in a Circle apartment with two roommates who drive me everywhere. Living in a four-person circle, I have the luxury of being able to cook for myself and I do not have a roommate to share my space with. Luckily I don’t have any housing horror stories, and I’ll be leaving Ithaca before I have the chance to make any.