Growing up I was very fortune to have my own room for a majority of my childhood. I’ve always had my own space to escape to and to feel completely comfortable. Even if it was just a little room up in the attic, it was all mine.
Every time I would fight with my sister, want to hide from people or just be alone I had a space to do so. I took advantage of that a lot. I never realized how much I benefited from having my own personal space to escape to.
I have dealt with severe anxiety my whole life, so you could only imagine my thoughts on moving away to college and having to share a room with a complete stranger. High school focuses on preparing you so much for the academics side of college that it leaves out how it impacts you emotionally and personally.
I could have chose to get a single dorm room right off the bat but I knew that somewhere deep down I needed to step out of my comfort zone to meet new people. So with that I received my very first roommate, a girl named Annie who was all the way from Maryland.
She had all the qualities of a perfect roommate if not more. But
unfortunately for me I was not in the right mental health state to be living with anyone.
So after many stressful anxiety-driven nights, I decided to commute during the spring semester of my freshman year. I took that time to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of college. I knew I wanted to live on campus to get the full college experience, but I was so scared my anxiety would ruin any chance of that.
So that is when it hit me. Why not just get a single dorm? I would be able to have my own space again, live in the dorms and get the full college experience. And that is exactly what I did.
By living in a single dorm room for almost one full year now I can confidently say it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life thus far.
Having my own room again gives me the space I need to deal with my anxiety. I now feel more comfortable stepping outside my comfort zone and achieving the goals I set for myself way back when I first decided that I wanted to go to college.
Living in a single dorm room has also made me realize that some people are very ignorant and sometimes judgmental.
What is wrong with you, why do you live in a single? Aren’t you lonely without a roommate? How did you end up there?
At first those comments bothered me but now I don’t let them. I am not ashamed of having a single dorm room and no one can ever make me feel different.
Without my single dorm room I would not have had the confidence and strength to get my internship, to have my job and to be involved in as much as I am today.
So please think next time you judge or question why someone has a single dorm room. You might know their name, but you do not know their story.