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A symphony of alarms goes off in the morning, and it’s time for everyone to wake up—after each person presses snooze a few times. None of us ever feel like we’ve had enough sleep, and we know that the next night probably won’t be able to make up for that. Sometimes somebody will sleep through her alarm and won’t be awakened by the choir of others echoing off the walls and high ceilings in the background. Every time, someone will walk over to whomever sleeps through and gently wake her up to make sure she doesn’t miss class or have to rush and get stressed out at the very beginning of the day.

Sometimes we feel like each other’s mothers, the way we try to make sure everyone wakes up on time among other things. We always give encouragement before exams, big events, speeches, or stressful days. Sometimes we even leave each other little post-it notes as surprises for when we wake up on each other’s laptops or desks. Sometimes there is even a little candy with a note or picture just to make sure everyone is smiling. Some people might attribute these acts as typical of sappy girls or people who are trying to kiss up to each other, but neither one of those reasons stands behind why we try to make each other smile.

We try to make each other smile because we care about how each other feels, and even more, we have learned to realize that making someone else smile makes oneself smile. When you live with people, you quickly get to know them for who they are, and they get to know you for who you truly are. It is extremely hard to hide anything, especially given these specific circumstances of sharing a room. Therefore, people will know when you hare stressed. People will know when you are having a bad day. People will know when you can use a little cheering up. When you see people try to act on those realizations to make you feel better, it is evident that they genuinely care about you.

No one is obligated to take time out of her day to make anyone else feel better, but it happens regardless. Being lucky enough to be paired with people who care for each other as family members do is something for which I will always be thankful. So, whether you leave someone a little surprise note, even if it just has a smiley face on it or come up with something extravagant, know that he/she will realize you care, and both of you can smile together!

Story of the Week

Awkward and embarrassing moments. They are bound to happen, especially as a freshman in college. You are knocked down to the bottom of the totem pole and have to learn the ways of the new life into which you are placed. It is impossible to navigate through flawlessly without messing up somewhere along the way, and even though we learn from the mistakes we make, they can sometimes be enough to make us feel like complete idiots and ruin our day. There will surely be times when our naïveté gets the best of us, but that’s just part of being young. Wisdom comes with experience…hopefully. So, why not celebrate the mistakes and awkward moments that will hopefully make us wiser in the long run?

That’s what we are doing in supplemental with “Story of the Week.” Basically, all of my roommates and I go about our lives as usual and almost wait for something to happen. We tell each other about our days and what we are up to, and usually, there is someone who has an awkward or unique experience beyond everyone else’s. That person then wins “Story of the Week.” What is the reward? You get a gold star on the Story of the Week board and a clever title for the event is written in the box corresponding to your name and that weekend. Also, everyone gets to ask you about what awkwardness or embarrassment you endured.

Now, I’m not trying to portray this as anything for winners to be ashamed of. I am actually tied for first place. If you win, it means that everyone, including yourself, was able to get a good laugh out of the situation. That’s the entire point of Story of the Week: learning to laugh at times that we could easily stress over. Even though the actual moment when these things occurred could have felt like torture, the aftermath makes it worth it. Plus, it has helped us bond in a way that I find unique.

Nobody feels the need to hide anything, and we know that even on our worst of days, we will have friends who make us laugh and feel better. What would college be without weird run-ins, awkward encounters, or embarrassing instances? Pretty dull, if you ask me. Story of the Week is a way to reward my roommates for enduring something embarrassing with a good laugh. What’s your story of the week? Maybe it is time to step up the competition.

Keep Your Head Up

Living in the middle of a room surrounded by other people is not the best situation for privacy. Anyone can see what you are doing at almost any time. Everyone learns your habits. In supplemental housing, roommates know if you are sleeping. They know if you’re awake. They know if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness’ sake. That being said, it is pretty easy to get on someone else’s nerves or have someone else get on yours. Even in normal situations where you are around people, whether sitting next to a random guy on the bus, doing a project with your co-workers, or talking to your mom on the phone, it’s easy to get aggravated. That’s part of life. Sometimes you feel like the person is doing something rude, stupid, inconsiderate, etc., and other times you know it is innocent, but maybe you are having a bad day. Depending on the person and situation, you can get over it, fight it out, or harbor a secret hatred forever. But, for me, I am in the middle space between family that I can fight and make up with in an instant, and friends who will be offended if there is any type of conflict. This is where things get touchy. Coming across as too critical can ruin a friendship. Never telling the person what is wrong can make life nearly unbearable. Having a high-school-like gossip battle never ends well, and fighting it out like you would with family can get messy because not everyone will love or forgive you at the end of the day. I would be lying if I said life was totally perfect in a room like mine. It has definitely worked out for the better, but there are times when I have wanted to move out or leave for the weekend as a consequence of how I was feeling toward my roommates. I am not saying I dislike any of them, but there are times when I felt frustrated. What happens when these times arise? Luckily, nothing detrimental, but that is because of how situations have been handled: honestly and with patience. I cannot stress enough the importance of honesty and patience. To resolve anything you must make sure the issue is brought to others’ attention in a truthful way, and while discussing it and looking for solutions, it is key to take enough time to make progress. Sugarcoating or lying will let the problem rest just as rushing to a solution will most likely create an inadequate one. Even worse, rushing to a solution may give off the impression that the problem was insignificant, allowing it to continue guiltlessly. That can be okay if that is honestly what the situation calls for, but in a living situation where problems and habits can be ongoing, it is necessary to make a solution that is livable and convenient enough for both parties. Some days everything will be annoying, but it doesn’t have to be that way every day if you work to make it better!

"Just Keep Swimming"

            Going from having my own room and bathroom to sharing a room with seven people and a bathroom with an entire floor were certainly aspects of college life that I was stressing.  At home, I liked having my own space, silence and darkness at night, the ability to leave my lights on until whenever I was going to bed, and basically the freedom to do almost anything without worrying about disturbing someone around me.  At the time, little did I realize that all of those things are luxuries—things I definitely took for granted.  Moving in to supplemental housing, I knew I would have to try to adjust to being careful about not only disturbing one roommate, but seven roommates.  I would not be able to have all the lights on, make noise, etc., and I could not expect complete silence and darkness when I wanted to sleep.  People have things to do and work to get done, even if it is 2 a.m. 

            I was fixated on “try your best” before moving in, and upon moving in, I realized that I would have to do more than that.  It wasn’t going to be about trying.  It was about doing. 

Take the situation, accept it for what it is, and deal with it. 

That was my new philosophy.  I wouldn’t have time to “try” living in a room with eight people.  I would just have to do it, whether I liked it or not, no trial beforehand. 

Honestly, that’s how a lot of life goes.  Sometimes the first time is your only chance to get it right.  Now, I’m not saying it is wrong to make mistakes or that mistakes or trying things out are bad.  But, I have realized how important a first effort can be.  I have also realized how just taking things for what they are, whether they are people or situations, and not dwelling on little negative aspects or trying to change things that won’t change has made life easier for me.

            Complaining won’t fix anything.  Thinking about how bad something will be will not, in any way, make it better.  It will be bad before you even experience it.  Stopping to be negative solves nothing, so just keep going.  It will get better eventually, and you won’t be stressed out still when it does.  Accepting situations as they are and not stressing myself out about them does wonders.  In the words of Nike, “Just do it.”