A Gamecock by Nature

There are a lot of dorms on campus that require you to share a room with another person.  This year I live in Bates West, which is an apartment style dorm.  That means I live with three other people and we have a bathroom, kitchen and living room.  The difference between Bates West and other apartment style dorms is I share my room with another girl and my two housemates also share a room. 

This year I decided to go for the luck of the draw.  I got so lucky with my roommate and with my two housemates.  My roommate is a junior transfer from New York and we get along wonderfully.  She likes to keep her stuff organized which is great because I also like to keep my stuff together and on my side of the room.  Over the last few months we have shared memories and swapped stories.  I've already asked her to live with me next school year since we're friends but not close friends.  This is a very important piece of advice.  Live with someone you get along with, but not your best friend or someone you spend significant amounts of time with because it's bound to hurt your friendship in the long run. 

As for my other two housemates, they are both seniors graduating in December.  They are both student teaching this semester, so I rarely see them in the apartment.  So to my roommate and I, it feels like we have the whole place to ourselves.  It's going to be so weird when we get new housemates in the spring, but I'm hoping for the best. 

So when you begin to apply for on-campus housing, I encourage you to meet someone new.  You are guaranteed to have stories to tell, may they be good or bad.  The nice part is I've heard of more friendships stemming from random roommates than the opposite. 

If you're looking into picking out a dorm for youself, make sure to check out the housing webpage and take a virtual tour!  Have a great day!

Posted by Lydia at 01:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before I came to college I was honestly one of the luckiest kids because my parents never made me do laundry.  By this I mean I never had to physically figure out what clothes could be washed together and I never had to decide what temperature to set the water.  This meant that growing up I never ruined a shirt or turned my socks pink. 

Well, once college rolled around my parents told me it was time for me to learn.  When my mom took me to tour Capstone House, we took a trip to the basement and looked at the washing machines and dryers.  These college laundry machines were made for every type of person because they only have 3 buttons to choose from!  I literally stick all of my pajamas and basketball clothes in one machine and push "bright colors" and then I put all of my nicer tops and pants in another machine and push "bright colors".  After about 40 minutes of waiting I put all of my pjs and athletic gear in a dryer and push "permanent press" to hopefully eliminate some of the wrinkles.  In the meantime I take my other clothes back to my room, put them on hangers and drape everything around my room. 

The thing is, I really don't enjoy doing laundry.  Yes, it is convenient because it's in the same building, but it takes close to a two hour block of time to complete!  Luckily for me I always manage to rearrange my schedule to fit it in.  However, I rarely plan enough time to fold all of my "dried" clothes.  Let's just say if clothes are even the slightest bit wet, they should not be left in a laundry basket.  I've learned to get over my dislike for wrinkled clothes since it's always my own fault. 

I will leave you with this piece of advice: Do not try and do laundry on Sunday nights, it never works.  Also, if you think the laundry room will be empty at 2 am on a Friday night, you're probably wrong because it seems like someone is always sharing the basement with you.  So plan ahead and don't wait until you're down to your last outfit! 

Posted by Lydia at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is so great to be back in Columbia!  I moved in Monday afternoon after an amazing 3 week break!  Due to some unfortunate circumstances I had another problem with the airport (it seems I am very unlucky in that respect).  I'm glad that I made it back to Columbia safely after missing my flight due to an airport mistake and having to spend a night with my friend Joanne ('09 Pre-Med) in Charlotte!! 

This first few days back have been incredibly relaxing.  I have been sticking to my New Years' Resolutions and going to the gym at 6:45 am to work out.  I have been rotating working out my upper and lower body because I want to be in the best shape of my life by spring break!  I am also attempting to eat healthier, but I'm hoping that will become easier once my fees are paid and I can use my meal plan again. 

In the afternoons I have been playing basketball.  To my amazement there has been a lot of guys on the courts so I've been able to build my endurance back up beform classes start.  I've had a few great games and a few bad games on the courts, but I have a feeling it's all going to come together once basketball intramurals begin. 

Since I came back early for RA training I have updated my bulleting boards and created door decs for all of my residents to make them feel welcome.  I have also been attending RA training sessions with the entire campus, the north area staff, and the Capstone staff.  We are definitely ready for the residents to move back and keep us occupied!

The nice thing has been our RA bonding in the evenings.  We have been eating dinner as a staff, playing games, and we've gone bowling.  The games are definitely my favorite part.  I brought Catch Phrase and a game called Boxers or Briefs to the table.  We were a tad competitive with the boys vs. girls rounds but we all definitely had some good laughs.  One of the other RAs brought Charoodles which has probably become my new favorite game.  It's basically a charades games with props that definitely reminds me of "Who's Line is it Anyways?"  I was told my facial expressions are priceless. 

Well I think that's enough for now!  One of my other goals for the New Years is to bring you more frequent updates!  I'm looking foward to your comments!  Let me know if I can help with you with absolutely anything such as housing decisions for example. 

Posted by Lydia at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)