Living with Locals as an International Student: Alone.

Just getting out of fall break, I've experienced what it's like to be in an empty suite. Three days of emptiness has equated to perhaps what I'd like to call nostalgia. Even though I have two older siblings, I’ve grown accustomed to being in a room alone as well as sleeping on my own. It was interesting at first. The constant silences, the impossibility of communicating with anyone and my inability to do activities with others have all led up to me appreciating what it is like to have room mates.

It's nice to be able to compare the two situations. Silence is quaint and yet I’ve also been able to blast my music as loudly as I want without having to worry about whether anyone cares or not. I've been able to wake up at whichever time that I want. On a separate thought, no more roommates waking me up and no more roommates giving me advice or recommendations. Sometimes they would give me help on my homework and sometimes they would give me recommendations on music.

In learning to deal with having the suite to myself, I decided to meet other people that I generally don’t talk to. I’ve realized that there are other people outside of my suite which are just as much fun to talk to as the people in my suite. All in all, I’ve learned to become more social and appreciate having roommates.

Pictured below: an empty suite.