Continuing the moving theme today, I thought that some of you might be interested in exploring the absolute necessities required to make it in your new college environment. Some of you reading the blog may be moving to college for the first time. Others are relocating to off-campus housing this year, and want a few hints as to what is needed. I’ve done both, and today we will explore the wonderful world of residence life.

First topic: what to bring. If you’re living in a college dorm, the absolute most important item you can’t live without are shower sandals. You may not consider them to be essential, but believe me, with all those nasty feet using your community shower every morning, there’s no telling what kinds of evil fungi are growing in there. You want to be protected. I will sleep better at night knowing that you have them.

Other items that might come in handy in the dorms include a small fridge, microwave, and comfy desk chair (since the ones provided won’t get you through those all-nighters). If you’re living in an apartment for the first time, your great challenge will be to “set up housekeeping.” This means not only buying some sort of furniture for your new place, but also getting dishware, utensils, shower curtains, and other items that were provided for you in the dorms. Yard sales and Goodwill are all solid possibilities—I am still using the set of plates I bought at a yard sale in Spokane back in 2002.

Some people will tell you to go dumpster diving. I would advise against this for two reasons, aside from the general premise that it is gross to rummage through trash: one, it is technically illegal (and I’ve known people who’ve been caught by the police), and two, it seems condescending to the poor who do it to survive when you’re doing it for fun. You can probably scrounge up the cash to buy it, folks. As tempting as Pier 1’s dumpster might be, stay away.

The next important thing you should know about college living is how to get along with the management. Once upon a time, I was a resident assistant. We had a term for certain people in the dorm, those who were needy or complaining every time we turned around—“high maintenance residents.” My friends, you do not want to be the high maintenance resident in your new home. Jesus does not want you to be the high maintenance resident either, because that means you’re making the RA’s life, well, you know. If you absolutely must get into the storage closet, at least set up a time with the RA rather than demanding it be done right then. One complaint per week about your noisy heater is enough—the squeaky wheel may get the grease, but that doesn’t mean the RA is going to like you for it.

As for how to get along with your roommates? My theory on this subject is that you cannot graduate from college until you’ve had at least one bad roommate experience. So don’t beat yourself up when it happens. My bad roommate experience actually came after I moved out of the dorms, after I’d had all the RA mediation training and all that. You may not see it coming.

Roommates teach you a lot about yourself, in a manner similar to dating—when you live with people, you find out how you do not like to live. I discovered, through the assistance of my first-year roommate, that I cannot listen to Bebo Norman every day for two months straight (although I can still remember Loretta’s interactive hand motions to the chorus of “Walk Down This Mountain”). I found out that I have definite space and boundary issues when it comes to my stuff. And I confronted my own discomfort with silence and isolation through a roommate experience. Remember that living with people is a give-and-take—you have to figure out what to let go and what to stand firm on, and where to show some Christian love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 takes on a whole new dimension after your freshman roommate.

After these brilliant insights, you may feel compelled to draw further upon my residence life wisdom. Or perhaps others of you out there may be able to add something to what I’ve already said—this is certainly a cursory treatment of the topic. I await your pleasure.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.” --Proverbs 19:20

Kelsey