A Game of Residences

#FlashbackFriday

It’s been a while since I have lived on a university residence but I thought I would flashback to the interesting, challenging and all together amazing experiences I have had.

Reminisce

I remember arriving on campus as a doe-eyed first year student excited for University life with anticipation of what it would be like. Would it be like the movies, the gloriously mixed feeling of independence and freedom with the idea of getting great marks without much studying taking place. I mean how often do you see students actually study in the movies portraying university/college life? TV shows like ‘A Different World’ really portrayed that campus life as something far more interesting than it actually is. Anyways, I found that one aspect I was most excited about was living on campus. I was excited to be living with other people my age and just being able to engage with them. Lol, I had forgotten I was an introvert and also really liked having my own space.

Nevertheless, my first residence was at Lister Center and would you believe I actually shared a room with someone. Crazy, I know. It was an interesting experience and definitely taught me how to cohabit with other people. Not just a roommate but living with other young people on a floor and with various personalities and various interests, some of which may clash with yours. Example, Friday evening for some usually consists of watching movies and eating junk food while another person’s Friday evening consists of drinking and loud partying.

So for my second year I decided to try something different and applied to live in International House. I really liked the sense of community that was encouraged and the mixing of different cultures. Plus, it meant I had to start cooking my own meals. Oh yeah! Gone were the days of meal plan from Lister years. This was real adulting now a.k.a you don’t cook, you don’t eat!

Then I decided to move into the women’s residence in Campus. This helped in some extent encourage my spiritual growth as it was linked to the Christian college and you can’t help but feel inspired walking past a prayer room every day on your way to classes. However, I will say I learnt the most here about the balance between having your space to yourself and knowing when to allow other people into that space. St Joseph’s Women’s residence was pretty cool, it was also quite convenient that it was located right at the center of the university campus.

The final residence I lived in was the East Campus Village. Man, if I narrate the story of how I got this place, you would think it was divinely set. I absolutely loved living here and was glad it was the final residence I stayed at. I think it’s the best transition for preparing you for living in your own place.

Well, there you have it folks a quick breakdown of my experiences living on campus. What has been your residence experience?

EDIT: Check out my posting on the University of Alberta website.

#LiveOnPurpose

Mo 🙂

A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more… (Romans 12:2)
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